The New Team
by Jennifer Scott
Summary: After twenty years, they've all gone their own ways with only memories of being a team. They grew up. Now, new group of teenagers will band together and redefine and redefine Young Justice. SYOC always open. *Ignoring most of Season 2*
1. Chapter 1: The New Team

The Phoenix smiled, staring down from the Clocktower in her city of Shining Falls, Pennsylvania. The sun was beginning to rise, dawning the skyscrapers and other buildings in a soft pale light. She always loved this time of morning, though she could rarely wake up this early. As it was, only a nightmare had woken her. A nightmare filled with pain...

She wiped away the tear falling down her cheek, trying to forget Steven and their last encounter. It was painful, him ignoring everything they had had together to have a life of crime. She knew they would see each other once more, but seeing him on the other side and not on the sidelines would be different. She hated change.

She looked up at the sun that had rise substantially now, the golden sky reminding her that she hadn't had breakfast yet. Perhaps she should simply stop by the local cafe for an early cup of chai. She look once more at the sky. She had time.

She walked inside the cafe, feeling the warmth of the ovens. She felt her mouth salivating at the smell of coffee and pastries that filled the room. She looked over to Johanna, the cafe's owner, manager, and employee of the month. She looked up from the display case where she filled it up with today's specials. She smiled as warmly as the rest of the cafe.

"The usual, Sophia?"

"Yes, please."

Sophia looked around, hoping that her red Phoenix uniform wasn't showing from her school bag. She sat down, waiting patiently for Johanna to finish up with her order, noticing two fliers on the window. One for a dance show, another for a local beauty pageant. She sighed in relaxation; it was six thirty in the morning on the Fourth of July. Sophia knew from experience that this was one of the busiest days in the year, for both her and Johanna.

For a while, Sophia read, enjoying the moments of peace and silence. She had rarely had a minute to relax since she took up the role of the Phoenix five months ago. Having only AP summer classes alongside crime fighting didn't help either.

Her moment was soon ruined however when another girl her own age walked through the doors. She looked of Asian descent with her black hair and equally dark eyes. She looked as if she had only just woken, but Sophia saw her eyes watching, absorbing every detail in the small cafe. Sophia grinned imperceptibly. This girl was smart, no doubt.

"Ah, Maria! Come in, come in! I'm so glad you could make it in on such short notice and so early," Johanna said while bringing out the chai tea and chocolate muffin for Sophia.

"Anything to keep the job," She spoke with a light accent. Canada, maybe?

"I thought you said you would never hire anyone, Johanna?" Sophia asked, quoting the owner.

"You know how things are on Independence Day. Everyone needs at least a little help."

Sophia was about to reply when her phone began to shout Good Time, telling her that her parents were calling. She sighed, suddenly remembering it was almost seven and her parents would be waking up, wondering where their little girl was.

Sophia answered, assured her parents that she was okay and on her way home, and ran off, chai still in her hand and muffin in her mouth. She knew Johanna would be chuckling as she often left this way. It wasn't long after navigating her beloved city that she came upon her house.

It was not big or fancy, nor did it seem out of the ordinary. It had been painted a pale blue with white trim years ago when her parents first bought the house and hadn't been painted since. There was an old oak tree on the side that had grown over the roof of the house like an ancient protector. The grass that covered the entire front yard was still brownish yellow from the indian summer. Sophia sighed with a sense of comfort.

She opened the door and walked into the living room where her parents would be, watching the news. She had grown used to the family pictures and her father's Olympic gold trophies and the disorganized papers her mother had of strange alien symbols and their translations on the coffee table. She no longer noticed the only spot in the bare floor that would squeal loudly when stepped upon.

Her father was in his lazy chair, as it was called. His hair was dark, his skin tan, his eyes brown. He had been born in Argentina but came over to the States when he was nine. He simply looked at his daughter with a mixture of fondness and disapproval.

Her mother was on the couch, drinking her own cup of chai tea. She had pale white hair, but no wrinkles or any other obvious signs of aging. Most assumed that she had simply grayed early or dyed it, but that was not the truth. The truth was the same reason she had striking golden eyes, though most assumed she wore contacts, as her daughter. She was the original Phoenix after all.

"Patrol?" Her mother didn't even bother looking up from the papers in her hands.

"Sort of. I just wanted to clear my head before meeting the Justice League later."

"Excited?" her father asked. When she first discovered her powers, he had been the most supportive.

Sophia smiled, showing her enthusiasm. Her mother looked over at the old grandfather clock then hurriedly began to file her papers away. She nodded back to Sophia who understood. She ran back to her bedroom, put on her Phoenix uniform then met her mother who was already in her old uniform that had not been worn in some sixteen, seventeen years.

"My two favorite girls," her father said, hugging them both before wishing them good luck.

* * *

The Phoenix was not sure what to expect when meeting the League. Her mother, being her mentor, would introduce her to the League and other superheroes. She would be evaluated. Through a series of tests, they would decided upon whether or not she would continue to be trained. A decision that affected her entire life.

"Phoenix?" Both women turned their heads, though the young man speaking, a tall man with dark hair wearing the tradition Batman uniform, was speaking to the elder.

"What's the matter?"

"The hearing must be pushed back. There's an issue near Gotham that must take our attention."

"Such as?"

The man narrowed his eyes at the younger Phoenix but spoke slowly. "A boy has appeared 'from thin air' reports say into the middle of the city. He went beserk, injuring several and had now disappeared. He reeked of Void energy."

The elder's eyes grew wide, but remained calm. The younger wrinkled her nose in confusion, but left it be, understanding that she was not supposed to know. The elder nodded and walked away with a young Phoenix with a temper following.

"I thought today was the day!" She said as soon as they had gotten home moments later through a zeta tube.

"It was. But if you want to be a hero, then you need to know is that nothing ever goes as plan."

"I know, but-"

"No buts. Today is the Fourth of July. Go out and enjoy yourself. I'll meet you at the cafe before the parade and fireworks start."

Sophia rushed out of the house, annoyed by her mother. She walked out of the house, slamming the door. She wandered around the city, muttering angrily to herself, frightening some tourists passing by. Before she knew, she found herself right back at the cafe ordering a one of the specials. She wasn't even sure until which one the girl Maria brought it out. Sophia, looked around, seeing everyone had left to join in the festivities, except for a man and his two teenage children who looked like they were twins. They were waiting for their drinks. Except for Sophia's mood, everyone seemed happy and patriotic.

How wrong she could be.

Someone had walked in, dressed in all black. Sophia instantly recognized him as Steven. He recognized her immediately and took a seat next to her. She scowled and faced him.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was hushed.

"Enjoying a coffee. I am still allowed to do that, right?"

"You're a wanted criminal. I could drag you over to the police."

"In the middle of the heart of the city? With everyone watching? Without your Phoenix costume?"

Sophia sighed, admitting temporary defeat. She groaned mentally.

"You know, meeting me for coffee or tea or whatever it is you drink could be considered a date," he pointed out.

"Please, I'm fairly certain you becoming his apprentice effectively ended our relationship."

He was about to say something when they both heard screams outside. A man Sophia had never seen before was running down the street with a gun, shouting something about how the world was being taken over and the contaminated must pay the price for their crimes.

Sophia and Steven didn't even stand up before he came in the cafe and singled his eyes on the twins. He aimed for them, but as the crack of gunfire sounded throughout the city, their father stepped in front of them. The girl screamed, the boy stood there. Steven disarmed the man quickly and shoved into the wall, knocking him unconscious with blood dripping down his broken nose. Sophia turned her attention to the man, but saw it was too late. A red stain over his chest was rapidly growing. His voice was harsh as he tried to speak to his children.

"It wasn't... your fault..."

Steven came over, still holding the weapon. He spoke harshly, something that was new to Sophia. "Sorry it had to go down this way, Soph. And for the record, I never stopped caring about you." Steven disappeared as quickly as he had come, leaving behind no evidence of his presence.

Sophia was left there standing, her mouth opened. The twins, torn between their father and the girl who looked to be connected to their father's murder. Johanna, good and faithful Johanna closed her doors and brought the twins and Sophia to the back. Johanna looked at the twins eyes and searched for signs of shock. The girl was, but again, the boy seemed oddly calm by the situation, though Johanna confirmed he was in shock as well.

"Sophia, now might be a good time to suit up."

Sophia nodded, but did not register her voice. However, she simply began to walk over to a relatively concealed corner of the room and began to strip and changed into her uniform. The twins seemed shocked by having the Phoenix suddenly there. Before she put on the mask, she walked over to the twins.

"Who was he?"

"Our uncle," the boy answered. Sophia noticed how his hair seemed a blue gray. Before she thought he had dyed it, but noticed that the color extended down into the roots. "He saved us. He brought us over here from London to start a new life. He decided that today we would celebrate. It was the day America was born and started its own course in history. He decided that it was our turn."

Sophia put on her mask, concealing all but her golden eyes. She was about to leave the back room, when the girl grabbed her arm, holding her back.

"If you're going after him, we're coming with you."

"I appreciate it, but this is sort of my job."

"And he is our uncle."

"I'm sorry, but-"

The brother spoke now. "If you don't take us with you, we'll do it on our own. And unlike you, we don't guarantee that the bad guy will make it to jail."

The Phoenix stared at the pair, debating the seriousness. However, they were both solid in their stance and she knew that that was a bad sighed reluctantly before nodding and signaling them to follow her.

She led them to the old Clocktower at the heart of the city where they climbed up several flights of stairs. The twins began to wonder if this hero would ever help them and if they should leave now. The Phoenix never turned her head to see if they did.

When they got to the heart of the top of the tower, the Phoenix heard them gasp in awe upon seeing the view. Through the clock face, they could see the entire city, but all around them was high tech equipment that looked vaguely looked back at her.

"Welcome, I guess. I don't usually have visitors, so ignore the mess. And don't touch anything! I only just got most of this set up about five months ago. Names?" the Phoenix asked.

"James."

"Alice."

"So what's your story?" The Phoenix walked over to a rather large computer and began to furiously type. A few things popped up which after scanning quickly, she ignored and continued to press buttons.

"No story."

"Everyone has a story."

"Not us."

The Phoenix stopped what she was doing and turned around to face them. She looked them directly in the eyes through her mask. She slowly took it off, making her seem more human. "Five months ago, I watched the one boy I ever cared about get attacked by a terrorist. Actually, my entire school did. He wasn't expected to live. Later that day, after my parents blew it off and I was releasing my stress and frustration, I discovered my powers. I inherited them from my mother. She was the original Phoenix. Against my parents wishes, I took up her mantle. I swore my revenge." She waited a moment before continuing. "The boy lived. I kept it a secret from him. My greatest mistake. He became the apprentice of my enemy, the very one who nearly killed him. No matter how you look at it, you need a certain amount of truth and honesty between partners. No, I'm not offering you to be my sidekicks. But if you want to work with me, then I need all your cards on the table."

The boy sighed. "Our's isn't much better. Short story, our father betrayed us. He twisted us into his experiments. Our uncle saved us."

The Phoenix nodded, understanding their reluctance to share and not asking for more. Something on the computer popped up, distracting them from the conversation. She looked over at them.

"Pack your bags. We're heading to Detroit."

* * *

Orion looked around the entrances to the dark alley, hoping to see a face that had become familiar to him since he entered his career as a street fighter. He eagerly awaited the pretty feminine dark blue eyes that were accented by her faded tan kin and full lips. He heard his name being called from afar, a constant, "Cherufe! Cherufe! You're up!" in his ears. He sighed, about to turn around when he saw her, a goddess among savages. He smiled, catching her eye before turning around to see his opponent.

He was big, but Cherufe had a trick up his sleeves,

It was over within moments. The man had charged like a bull, not expecting his opponent to jump out of the way in time. Cherufe had jumped on him, wrapping his arms around his neck, strangling him. The man was out. Cherufe had to admit that he was just a little sad that the man had not allowed him to use his tricks.

Orion, declared the victor, walked coolly over to Deadshot, the local city girl who seemed to do whatever needed to be done, no questions asked. He had heard his manager once asking her if she ever wanted to step in the ring, but she denied him, saying she didn't need the money. Orion was impressed by her at the very least.

"Deadshot." He nodded as he approached.

"Cherufe." Her voice was cold, something that Orion embraced. "I'm surprised that you didn't have to use those little tricks of yours this time."

"Lucky, I guess."

She looked at him curiously, causing shivers to race down Orion's spine. "You seem to have quite a bit of luck about you, don't you?"

"Only if I can have dinner with you."

She looked at him a moment longer. "Then you are indeed a lucky guy. I have to deliver something later, but after that I'm free."

Orion never even had the chance to ask her where she wanted dinner before the sounds of a jet's engines passed overhead. They both looked up, only to find the jet gone. When they looked back at the ground, three people were standing there, one wearing the unmistakable uniform of the Phoenix, someone Orion thought was dead. The other two were nearly identical, though fraternal twins in nature. They stood behind her, a certain menace in their eyes.

Orion froze along with most of the people leaving the Crossroads fight, however Deadshot was not as surprised. Instantly, two guns she kept hidden were out and firing. She shouted out to him to release a smoke shield. He was about to when smoke came not from him and his own powers, but the Phoenix. Smoke rose in a distinct pattern which he only guessed was a signal of sorts. Then all hell broke loose.

A strong gust of wind blew through the alley, sending people fleeing. Deadshot adjusted for the wind speed and continued to fire. A deep frost slowly spread over the ground, climbing up the city walls. Orion slipped as he tried to run over to help Deadshot. Falling down, he cracked his head. He soon felt the warm stickiness of blood gliding down his neck. The last thing he saw was the Phoenix gracefully controlling her ruby red fire to take down surround Deadshot before darkness overwhelmed him.

* * *

The Phoenix was staring down at the two before her, a boy and girl roughly her own age if not a year or two older. The boy was wearing a red muscle shirt with black pants. He had light blond hair cut short. The girl had faded tan skin, caramel hair, and wore a black and blue camouflage shirt with black skinny jeans. Both were out cold.

"I thought I said that we needed a certain amount of honesty between us if we were going to work together."

Alice and James were standing behind her sheepishly. James spoke first. "We weren't sure we could trust you."

"Trust starts with the truth and ends with the truth."

"When we were children, our father experimented on us. That much is true. He gave us powers. I control ice and snow. Like Jack Frost," said James.

"Wind," Alice said.

"Anything else?"

"Our uncle saved us. We will be avenging him."

"Revenge will not-"

They were interrupted by the boy and girl waking. The boy instantly moved over slightly to the side, taking a protective stance. Both were looking up at the Phoenix, Alice, and James. Both had something akin to hatred in their eyes, only softer and more confused.

"I thought the Phoenix was dead," the boy said.

"The basis of the Phoenix legend is that they are reborn in fire," James interjected. "The basis of the Cherufe legend is that they are cruel monster that live in volcanoes. Now seeing as we found you among street fighters, am I right in assuming your street name has some sort of meaning?"

"Cherufe, don't answer," the girl said. The Phoenix saw something in her eyes that look familiar. Where had she seen that before?

"Didn't plan on it," the boy answered. He turned his attention back to his captors. "So who are you?"

"I thought that should be obvious, Cherufe and Deadshot." The Phoenix took back control of the investigation. She ignored the look of surprise upon Deadshot's face. The Phoenix began to pace. "I am a hero; I have morals and rules I must follow. However, these two," she thought for a moment. "Jack Frost and Whirlwind, are not. Meaning they have no rules in which to obey."

"What's that to us?" Deadshot asked. Now the Phoenix recognized the look in her eyes. Alice wore the same one. It was determination. Determination to hide something important.

"Nothing, actually. Out of curiosity, did you know that your little Crossroads fights are funded by the Hell Squad?" All eight eyes turned to her, all with confusion and surprise. "That links you to them. The boy who killed their uncle, practically a father figure to them, was killed by a Hell Squad apprentice. That links you to Frost and Whirl. Why don't you two think about the position you are in while I get myself a cup of chai tea."

The Phoenix walked out of the room with a cocky smile. Before she left the door, Cherufe shouted for her to stop. She turned back.

"I don't know anything about the Hell Squad organizing the Crossroads. But I do know that one kid has been hanging out around recently with an unusual interest in the fights. He doesn't have any powers like some of us do, but there is something else about him. Something I haven't seen before in a fighter. He's known as Bloodhound at the Crossroads. I can take you to him."

The Phoenix nodded.

* * *

As they touched down on top of a building and the Phoenix turned on the cloak, the five of them walked out to look down on one of the Crossroads. There was one man of maybe thirty years was facing a boy of sixteen. His hair was black but that was all any of the team could see of his face. The rest was covered with a red mask. The rest of the street costume was black. Quickly, the fight commenced with the shout of a man on the side. The man attacked first. The boy dodged his blows with his lips cracking a knowing smile. The Phoenix immediately understood. The boy was playing the man in order to draw out the fight and keep the small crowd roaring, increasing his popularity. The Phoenix saw the boy touch a red gem, most likely a ruby, on his wrist and the man was flying into the wall. The man tried to stand back up, but soon lost consciousness. The people creating the ring shouted . Money was passed around as bets were won and lost. One man, probably the boys manager, clapped him on the back and a small portion of the money made at the Crossroads, though probably hundreds of dollars at least, was given to him.

The Phoenix dropped down off the rooftop, landing in the middle of the crowd. Her hero suit changed before anyone could notice into a smoky gray uniform. She grinned slightly.

"Bloodhound, right? Word around the Crossroads is that you can fight. And after that little show, I think you're nothing more than a trained monkey performing a silly circus act."

The crowd went silent, all sensing a challenge approaching. The boy responded, "If you want to get beaten, then get in line."

"Why? So you can get your 'manager' to the real dirty work and cheat by giving you my secrets?"

A murmur swept through the crowd. A few realized that with any fight, there was some planning, but almost non realized that the managers would trade and buy secrets about the opponent. And as the ultimate secret was out, the Phoenix knew that in order to keep his integrity, Bloodhound would have to fight.

The boy came out, striking the first blow. The Phoenix rolled into it. She grinned and stepped back, waiting for him to take the next blow. He straightened himself, likewise knowing that he could not always be on the offensive. The resulting stare down lasted several minutes. An observer was about to start shouting taunts when a thin ice began to creep down the walls and onto the ground. The wind dropped quickly; the air grew still. The chattering of teeth and misty breath resounded. The boy threw a curious glance at the Phoenix. She shrugged, releasing smoke from her hands.

The boy touched his ruby. Air whirled around him blocking the smoke. She grinned devilishly, compensating for this by directing the smoke around him to block the view of the audience. She heard the roaring wind around the edge of the smoke ring. The audience would be deaf as well as blind.

"Bloodhound, we need to talk."

"Says the person who challenged me." He was still thinking they were fighting."

"Sorry, that's a cover. I'm really the Phoenix." Her uniform changed from the gray to the scarlet red with yellow emblem. She smiled slyly. "You see?"

The boy took off his mask, slowly, hesitantly. "Then why am I not arrested yet? These fights are illegal, or are you so new, that you don't know that yet?"

"I need to find someone. You can tell me who."

"What makes you think I want to tell you?"

"Nothing really. I only figured I should ask before kicking your butt."

"You can't."

"Let's find out later. Will you come willing or do I have to lock you up?"

"If I come willingly, will I still be able to fight in the Crossroads afterwards?"

"We'll see."

The boy nodded and followed the Phoenix to the roof where the jet was. When the wind died down and the smoke cleared, there was nothing left for the audience to see except a small crackling flame which died out as the sound of engines faded.

* * *

The boy was sitting down in the plane as if he owned the place. He had taken his mask off to reveal a lovely set dark eyes that the Phoenix found appealing. Though his ease, made her wary.

"I don't know much about whatever it is you're talking about, with the killing and nonsense. I don't even know anyone named Steven. But if you're looking for the Hell Squad," he smiled devilishly. "I can take you to them. I was there once, a while ago. I need to pay them a visit for everything they did to me."

The Phoenix looked at his eyes and knew that this boy would only help them so long as it fit into his own agenda. She knew that he was dangerous and couldn't be trusted. "Just show us where."

The boy looked at her as if she was a little girl, ruffling the Phoenix. "No. I'm taking you. You can't ditch me that easily."

The Phoenix glared at him then walked over to the others. They were watching her, looking for a lead. Alice and James were watching the boy, wondering if he really could take them to the man who killed their uncle. Alice appeared confused while her twin looked deadly. The Phoenix knew it was wiser not to let him anywhere near Bloodhound. "What do you guys think?"

"Why are we talking about this? Let's get the info out of him then ditch him. I don't like the way he can backstab his 'friends' so easily," James said, his arms crossed.

"Alice?"

"I... Can he really do what he says he can?"

"He either knows a lot more and is luring us into a trap, or he knows nothing and is distracting us for as long as possible."

"I think we should take the chance."

The Phoenix nodded. She turned back to Bloodhound. "Take us there." Bloodhound nodded smiling and went up to the cockpit of the jet. The Phoenix glared as she cared deeply about her jet that was a birthday gift two months ago. She clenched her fists and let it go. She turned back to Alice and James. "I'm going to check in on our friends in the back." They nodded and let her go.

The jet was not large, something that annoyed her until now as she could keep an eye on Bloodhound. Within half a minute, she was looking at Cherufe and Deadshot in the tail end of the plane. They looked more bored than anything with nothing to entertain them except each other.

"We're heading to the Hell Squad."

"Can we go? Home, I mean." Deadshot asked.

"After we finish up here. Right now, Bloodhound took the wheel and is taking us there now." The Phoenix paused. "Would you like to help us? I know both of you were part of the Crossroads and everything, but this would be-"

"First, only Cherufe was part of the Crossroads. I only watch. And second, how long until we get there?"

Cherufe coughed violently and stared at Deadshot, his eyes wide. "What are you talking about? I thought you didn't know about their involvement. And no offense, but I really don't want to-"

"Cherufe, I don't expect you to understand, but I need to do this."

The Phoenix nodded, unsure of Deadshot's reasons and hoping she didn't have a grudge like Bloodhound, but glad for the help. She unlocked the cell and let the girl come out. Cherufe sighed but got up as well. "I'll come to, then."

"I appreciate it. Come up to the front."

The Phoenix led the two of them up front where Bloodhound was still happily flying her jet. She glared, but ignored him. She was about to open her mouth when Bloodhound spoke.

"Your jet is amazing. She is purring like a kitten and faster than a peregrine falcon. It took me a couple seconds to get the hang of her, but she is easier to handle than a puppy. Oh, and we're here."

The Phoenix took a deep breath before giving the order to land.

* * *

When The Phoenix woke up from the darkness that had been swirling around her, she was in a cell of some sort. She sat up quickly, confused, disoriented, and worried. She saw Alice, James, Bloodhound, Deadshot, Cherufe and others more that she didn't know who were all staring at them as outsiders. She stood up. After a moment or two of trying to shake off the fog in her head, the rest of her group began to wake up with the same sluggish effects as her.

"Where are we?" James asked with a slur in his words.

"I don't know. I just woke up." The Phoenix replied.

"Were we drugged?" Cherufe asked.

"Feels like it," Alice commented, rubbing her head.

"I have to admit, I didn't see that coming," Bloodhound said.

"What happened?" The Phoenix shouted. She felt her skin tingle as she understood that she had made a mistake for trusting Bloodhound now others were going to pay the price for her stupidity.

"Don't you remember?"

"I remember you leading us down a secret tunnel. Beyond that no, not much. Alice is right; we were drugged. How do you remember?"

"I'm immune to the drug. They used a different one on me, one that doesn't have short term memory loss as a side effect."

"Then answer my question. What happened?"

"We were ambushed. What else? Now it looks like we're about to be fighting."

The Phoenix was about to lunge for him, when rod stabbed her back and electrocuted her. She screamed, barely hearing the voice telling her to save it for the Crossroads. She was lying on the ground, waiting for the spasms to pass. She glared up at him, then accepted James' hand up. She looked behind her where the person with the cattle prod should have been. He or she was gone.

"What did he mean?"

"Get your head into it, Phoenix. We're at the Hell Squad's training center for the Crossroads. We are about to be put up against the best of the best. Who knows what sort of deadly combination of powers and combat skills are in this room?" Bloodhound seemed frantic now, pacing up and now six feet of floor.

"Phoenix!" A voice from beyond the wall called her. A door opened and after looking around, she walked through as it promptly closed behind her. She looked at the person who had called her. It was Steven.

"What the-"

"I know it's confusing, but trust me this is all I can do for you. If you come with me now, then I can get you out of here." He took her hand

The Phoenix realized what he was offering and took her hand back. "What? No. I'm not leaving my friends."

"You mean the traumatized twins you met earlier today, and the three illegal street fighters that you've picked up since then."

"Friends might be too strong a word, but regardless, they are here because of me. I'm not leaving without them, Steven."

"Why? You have a chance to escape. They are nothing more than dead weight, Soph."

The Phoenix stared at him. For once, she was not thinking as her alias, but as Sophia, the teenager who had almost fallen in love with him. She saw the boy who had smiled at her while she was a stranger, who had held her close after she had lost her grandmother, who had kissed her in the rain, who had almost died. But she also saw that that boy had died in the attack on their school, leaving a villain behind in his body.

"Do you remember when we were still at school and they asked us what we wanted to be after we graduated? When the hell did being a supervillain become your top choice?"

"What? Soph-"

"No. It's the Phoenix. And that is the difference between you and me, Malice," she said using the name of the boy who had taken Steven's body. "I know what loyalty and courage is. Loyalty is knowing who you can trust. The others might have a lot of work to do, but I know that one day, they will be closer to me than you ever were. And courage is knowing that I could very well escape now but choosing to stay behind and face whatever hell you have waiting back in there for me."

The boy's eyes went dark, leaving nothing of Steven behind. He nodded them the door opened and Sophia was being shoved into the pen where all the people were waiting. The others looked at her curiously, but before any questions could be asked, she shook her head and looked at them.

"When we get out of here, I need to ask a favor of all of you."

"You mean if," Jasper butted in.

"What is it?" Deadshot asked.

"Alice, James, this all started out as looking for the guy who killed your uncle. When we get out of here, this all goes to the League. I can't pretend that nothing happened. I was supposed to meet my mom for the Independence Day Parade. It's at least nightfall by now. I can't and won't cover this up. But that doesn't mean we can't stop searching. I have an idea, but I need you guys on board with it."

"What is it?" James asked.

"We be a team. It's happened before. Deadshot, Cherufe, and even Bloodhound can join to. "

Alice looked at her brother then back at the Phoenix. "I'd like that."

Deadshot looked around, then nodded. "It would be nice for a change to do something beneficial to society."

Cherufe sighed, but smiled. "If you're doing it, then I guess I have to."

"I don't need to be babysat." Deadshot spat back.

"I'm don't plan on it. I just want to be with you."

The shadow of a smile passed over Deadshot's face while Bloodhound laughed out loud.

"Don't plan on me joining. I'm going straight back to the Crossroads after this."

The Phoenix nodded, expecting this answer. She opened her mouth to say something when a loud shot interrupted them.

"Sophia Rivers and Jasper Moran shall fight next for Nolan," a voice over the loudspeaker announced.

"Sophia? Who the heck is Sophia?" Bloodhound asked.

"Me," the Phoenix replied. "Who's Jasper?"

"Me," Bloodhound responded after a moment.

The two were grabbed by the men with the cattle prods and brought to the center of the room. The strangers formed a circle around them and the Phoenix knew what was coming with a sinking feeling in her gut. She looked over her shoulder and saw a tinted window with a dark figure behind with a smaller one behind him. She shuddered, knowing that the infamous leader of the Hell Squad was watching them an expecting them to fight.

A new voice spoke. It was Malice. "Jasper Moran, the greatest fighter of the Crossroads thus far with the greatest potential Nolan has ever seen." A roar went throughout the standing crowd. "Sophia Rivers, sixteen years old, his opponent, the Phoenix!" Boos followed her name.

The two of them faced off, the Phoenix wondering how to start. She smiled, remembering of their earlier fight. "Looks like we finally get that fight," she taunted.

Bloodhound smiled. "Looks like it, Soph."

A blast of fire came towards his face which he dodged, surprised. "Don't call me that," she hissed through gritted teeth. Bloodhound began to mutter something unintelligible when the Phoenix came up and punched him in the jaw, drawing blood from his mouth. He stared at her in surprise.

"Honestly, I didn't think you had it in you."

The Phoenix narrowed her eyes. "I don't want to do this anymore than you."

"You're wrong, Soph," he said as he narrowly missed another fireball. "I love this." He threw a punch at her, hitting her in the forehead. As she tried to reorient herself, an idea came into her head.

"I'll make a deal with you, Jasper." She grinned as he narrowed his eyes upon hearing his name. I'll let you keep on fighting in the Crossroads if you win. In fact, I'll even join you if you win."

He smiled, "What's the catch?"

"If I win, you join the team."

He smiled even wider. "Better get used to the idea of you becoming illegal, hero."

The brawl of the century began. It was longer, harder, and more intense than the other Crossroads that had occurred before. It was the brawl Nolan was looking for and a thing smile crept across his face as powers ceased and fists and blood ensued. They were both ruthless, fighting for what they believe in. He spoke to the figure behind him,"You see, son, this is what you are meant to be."

As a final first was thrown, knocking the Phoenix down to the ground, Bloodhound pinned her. She struggled, but unable to move and with what passed as a ref about to call it, she did the only thing she could think of that would surprise Bloodhound and Jasper.

She kissed him.

It was short, but long enough for the desired reaction. Jasper backed up, taking his weight off of her, trying to absorb the information his brain was telling him. As soon as he realized his mistake though, it was too late. The Phoenix had pinned him, and headbutted him, sending him into a fitful sleep.

The ref called it, declaring the victor the challenger, Sophia. She stood, but before the guards could take her away, she spin around, with fire dancing at her fingertips, creating a cyclone of flame. It burned everyone nearby, except the unconscious Jasper. He looked better asleep, she thought to herself. Not so I-hate-the-world in his face.

The fire died down, leaving burned men and frightened faces of Crossroad trainees. She walked over to her team, who were all smiling. She grabbed Jasper, threw him over her shoulder, and began to lead everyone out, leaving behind presents for the Hell Squad as they went. When they reached the outside, it was cold and dark. The moon was shining and the stars were twinkling. The Phoenix set down Jasper gently on the concrete, got out her cell phone, and saw something that made her cringe.

57 missed messages. Mom.

"Sophia Haleigh Rivers, you are in so much trouble." Her mom's angry voice came through the phone as she picked up the phone after the first ring. "Where the hell are you?"

"Sorry, Mom. I got held up with work. I'll see you in a few."

"Oh, no, you won't. You are staying right there until I can get there. Do you hear me, Sophia?"

"Yes, Mom," Sophia responded with a certain irritated fondness. She should have expected this, but it was still ridiculous to be a superhero with you mom checking in on you.

* * *

Alice looked at her brother a ways away who was surprisingly unharmed. It hadn't been as easy getting out as Sophia made it to be. Her brother was pacing with his thinking face on. She didn't like it when he wore that face. She never did.

"James, what's up?" she asked nervously walking up to him.

He looked at her and her heart sank. She knew that face. She knew it only too well. "Alice... I think I'm going to go away for a while."

"What?" Alice tried not to shout."

"I can't do this team thing. I need to go find the man who killed Uncle Rory. I can't do that here. I'm sorry."

"So what are you going to do then? Scour the planet until you find him?"

"Whatever it takes."

"I'm staying."

"What?" It was her brother's turn to be surprised and not shout.

"I'm staying." She looked into his eyes. "James, I need a home. And I think this is the way to find Rory's murderer."

"Then I guess we'll see who's right. Do me a favor, don't tell the others. I don't think the Phoenix will want me out on my own."

"Okay." Alice was numb with pain as she watched her twin disappear into the darkness while she looked at the strangers she had just called a home.

* * *

The Phoenix nearly choked on water she had gotten from her jet a quarter mile away. Instead of just her mom, the entire Justice League showed up. Sophia tried not to show how very scared she was as they stared at the group of teenagers for a while.

"Star talking," Batman said.

The Phoenix glanced around at those she was trusted, even if a little reluctantly. However, before she could speak, her mom rushed up with sparks in her white hair. "Why didn't you call, Phoenix?" Sophia could hear the hurt in her voice.

"I didn't exactly expect it to turn into a this."

The elder Phoenix began to open her mouth, when Batman silenced her. He said in a voice much different from the first Batman, "Regardless, this won't happen again. You will not be trained by the League, Phoenix."

"Then I won't be trained by the League."

"Explain."

"What I, I mean we, did here, though not expected, was good. And we're a team now. We all have some basic training and the Hell Squad has suffered a blow with their Crossroad deals. How long do you think it will take them to recover from this? Not easily."

Batman opened his mouth but was interrupted by Jasper who was waking up. "Why let them tell us what to do? Either get on board, or get out of the way."

Batman narrowed his eyes when Flash, who was as late as ever, showed up. "Hey, it looks like we got a new team!" he exclaimed, earning himself a glare from Batman. "Lighten up, D- Bats. Come on, you were even younger than they were when we started."

The Phoenix smiled and crossed her arms, knowing when a battle had been won. The other followed her lead as they stared down the Justice League. Even Jasper, who could be less than thrilled with the idea of being part of the team instead of on his own at the Crossroads. Batman stared at them. The Phoenix began to wonder if she had made a mistake by not submitting to the League.

* * *

"This is the cave I trained in with five others as Robin. And since you are all so determined to fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms. Aqualad agreed to live here and be your supervisor. Tigress is in charge of training." Batman paused for the slightest moment. "I, will deploy you on missions."

"Real missions?" Deadshot asked. She was now Emily Lesnicki, wearing a plain white v-neck shirt and blue skinny jeans.

"Yes," Batman answered. "But covert. We need a team that can operate on the sly. The six of you will be that team."

"Sweet! Wait, six? I thought James-" An elbow from Alice silenced Cherufe whose real name was Orion Days. He now wore a brown hoodie with red jeans.

The team looked behind them where Batman had indicated. The Flash walked in with a young tall girl with straight red hair pulled back by his side. "This is the Flash's daughter, Kid Flash."

"You can call me Iris," she said in a small voice. Sophia, who was wearing her red hair down and a black leather jacket with blue jeans, knew that though the voice was small, someone formidable stood there.

She smiled, looking at her teammates.

"Today is the day."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks you guys so much if you actually stuck through the entire chapter. Sorry, it's long. My idea is to post each chapter as if it was an episode so they are all going to be super long. Anyways, as this story is filled with OCs not created/owned by me, I have to go around and give credit. If you want to create your own OC and submit it for the story, then just go to the bottom of my profile page. It will have everything you need.**

**Alice Duncan/Whirlwind and James Duncan/Jack Frost- BartAllenFangirl**

**Jasper Moran/Bloodhound- A Tragic Galaxy**

**Emily Lesnicki/Deadshot- HufflepuffFinder**

**Sophia Rivers- my OC**

**Orion Days- I actually don't know, it was an anon review on In Another World**

**Iris West- Kamil the Awesome**

**That's it for now. I did hint at some some characters who have yet to make an appearance and they will be given credit as they come into the plot. Please review to give me constructive criticism, ideas and/or a general "I love it!" Thanks for reading!**

**~Jennifer Scott**


	2. Chapter 2: Family Matters

Alice opened her eyes groggily, wondering why she felt unnaturally sore. She shifted her weight around closing her eyes to go back to sleep, when she remembered. She was part of a team. Rory was dead. Her brother had left her for vengeance. Now wide awake, she sat up, letting the tears fall down her cheeks, a luxury she had not had until earlier. She waited for them to stop which was a while and then, she put her sadness and pain tucked away, wiped the tears away, and went downstairs to the cave lounge.

Sophia was sitting upside down on the couch reading a book and Iris was painting her nails on the floor humming with her legs swinging. Emily was in the kitchen cooking along with a string of curses every time she burned herself which was quite often. The guys were nowhere to be seen.

"What time is it?" Alice asked, rubbing her eye.

"Almost three in the afternoon," Sophia replied nonchalantly.

"What?!"

"Don't worry, Alice. With the exception of Iris, we've all just woken. The guys aren't even up yet. Emily is making breakfast."

Alice exhaled, her panic set aside. "Why aren't you guys helping Emily?"

"She doesn't want it. Maybe you can through to her."

Alice walked over where Emily was about to tell her to get out. She walked over to the freezer where bacon was and got it out. She grabbed a frying pan and set to work making bacon. A small cheer from Sophia went out as she saw Alice's approach to helping. Alice enjoyed making bacon and it reminded her of yestermorning. Could it only have been yesterday that she had looked forward to a life with James and Uncle Rory?

Alice was interrupted by a shout from Orion as he ran up to her and hugged her much too tightly to her taste. She shrieked, nearly burning herself. Orion let go, chanting, "Thank you thank you thank you! You've no idea how much I love bacon!"

She smiled, then laughed when she looked over to Emily's expression. It was hidden well, but Alice could see the annoyance that she didn't get credit for cooking everything else. As they laid out the food on the table for everyone, both Emily and Alice smiled seeing everyone stare at the eggs, french toast, sausage, bacon, orange and apple juices, with hashbrowns on the side. Jasper walked in with a bad bedhead, stops, and literally drooled upon seeing the enormous breakfast that lay before him.

Alice sat down, feeling the slightest sense of warmth seeing everyone sti together and gorge themselves. She herself didn't realize how hungry she was until she had the first bite of toast. Her body longed for nothing more than to eat all the food.

It was only when all the food was gone that everyone began to slow down and make eye contact. Iris was the first person to speak up. "So what's next?"

Sophia looked at everyone. "Kaldur wanted us to rest today."

"Boring..." Orion mumbled with his mouth full.

"Can we do anything more interesting today? Maybe hoops?" Jasper asked.

The Team smiled at the thought and they all headed outside to play basketball. Alice smiled. A perfect first day of being on the Team...

* * *

Alice spent the first couple days in the same manner. She wondered why they werne't doing anything, but all Sophia could say was that Kaldur wanted them to rest. But by the fourth day, Alice couldn't handle it anymore. She burst into the central room where they had first entered the cave and saw Sophia and Iris standing there. Sophia had her arms crossed and Iris was smiling. Batman was there with another boy who looked a couple years younger than her. His hair was black and he wore the recognizable Robin outfit. Batman gesture Alice over.

"Alice, this is Damian, the newest member of your team."

"Hey," she tried to be nice.

"Hey." He looked at her as if she was nothing more than a peasant.

"Can you believe it?" Iris whispered to her. "We have a real sidekick on the team."

"What about you and Sophia?" Alice whispered back.

"Kid Flash has only just become her father's sidekick," Damian interrupted gloating over his status. "And Sophia has never had any real training."

"You don't need training when you have raw talent." Sophia came back. Alice now understood why her arms were crossed.

"Everyone needs training," Batman put in, but upon seeing Damian's smug smiled added, "However, some just need more than others." He ruffled Damian's hair, much to the kid's annoyance, who was frantically putting it back in place.

"Iris, can you get the rest of team to meet Damian?" Batman asked and Iris dashed off. Batman wasted no time.

"Sophia, Damian's really here because you're going to need him on this next mission. I won't tell the others the real purpose behind this. You are to-"

"They're on there way!" Iris shouted as she slid back up to everyone, nearly slipping in the process.

Batman nodded. "Damian will tell you as soon as you reach the other side."

"Tell us what?" Orion asked as he and Jasper walked up. They were both sweating and wearing nothing but basketball shorts as they had been out for a game of hoops. Alice looked away, trying not to be rude.

"It's time to suit up," Damian said. "We're heading out on a mission."

"It's about time!" Jasper said.

"You are heading over to the Middle East to meet with Ra's al Ghul. He said he had something that might be a clue to the Hell Squad. He didn't say much. You could very well be walking into a trap."

"Then why are you sending us?" Orion asked, utterly confused.

"Ghul has an agenda of his own. He makes his own rules and follows them. We can't trust him, but we might be able to use him. For now at least."

Sophia nodded, and eventually to the rest of the team followed suit. Alice could see, especially among the guys' faces, that they were not eager to walk walk in what might very well be a trap.

"Batman, who's in charge?" Damian asked. Alice tried not to groan. The kid would ask that.

Batman smiled and Alice could see he was remembering something fondly. "That's for you guys to decide." He nodded, then walked off, leaving them to their own devices.

Sophia opened her mouth to say something when Damian stepped in. "Alright, team. I want everyone suited up in ten. Meet you back here."

Alice looked curiously at Sophia, waiting to see what she would do. But Sophia simply walked away to where her quarters and uniform were. Alice followed suit along with the others. She tried not to show her irritation at the boy who assumed authority after being in the cave for less that ten minutes.

* * *

Whirlwind felt weird in her uniform. Due to the fact that Sophia's father had not engineered all of their uniforms yet with armor, she was using what she had found around the cave from the earlier team. She had found a light blue shirt and a purple vest over it. She wore simple black pants along with black boots and fingerless gloves. Unfortunately, almost everything except the boots were a size too big or small, but overall, she liked the look. She would suggest it when Riley got around to asking her about it.

Now they were on the Phoenix's jet on there where to wherever Ra's al Ghul was. At first, Robin had insisted upon flying the jet as only he knew the coordinates of al Ghul's location, however, the Phoenix would not let Robin anywhere near the controls. Eventually, she convinced him to give her the coordinates and take them there. Afterwards, the Phoenix invited Bloodhound up into the cockpit to spite him. Whirlwind tried not to giggle seeing Robin clench his fists.

"Alright folks, this is your assistant captain speaking," came Bloodhound's voice over the comm system. Whirlwind, wondered why he didn't come back and tell them as there was only an open door separating them. She understood though seeing Robin bite his lip in frustration. Perhaps the Phoenix was taking this a little too far...

"We'll be landing in the middle of nowhere momentarily. If you'll please fasten your seatbelts and sit quietly until we land, that would be much appreciated. Thank you."

Whirlwind wondered what seatbelts because there hadn't been any on here the first time, but as if on cue, straps came from the seat over her shoulders, around her sides, and between her legs. They fastened themselves, startling Whirlwind more than a bit. She decided not to ask the Phoenix and leave it alone.

Upon disembarking from the jet, the Phoenix activated the cloak, and Whirlwind watched it disappear. She was looking around the deep pine forest, wondering where they could be. Then, Robin looked at a holocomputer on his arm and pointed in an arbitrary direction. "That way will take us to his castle."

"He has a castle?" Cherufe asked.

"He has a lot of them. This is just the one where he comes to get away for a day and said he meet us at." Robin answered with a smirk.

"Dude, how do you know that?" Cherufe stopped.

"I've met him."

"Why?"

"I... I am his grandson."

Everyone stopped in their tracks. Whirlwind looked at the team's reaction. Cherufe was shocked, his mouth open. Bloodhound and Deadshot were instantly suspicious, appearing not to go a step further. Kid Flash looked conflicted, as if she wanted him to say it was all a joke. Whirlwind hoped it was, but knew it wasn't. She thought back to when they were getting briefed. Batman had mentioned a secret mission to the Phoenix and Robin and technically her, but she still didn't know what it was. The Phoenix acted no differently than before, waiting for everyone to decide. Whirlwind decided to trust Batman. He must have known about Damian before he became Robin. Right?

"Okay, let's keep on moving. We're supposed to meet al Ghul at the front gate, right Robin?" the Phoenix spoke up, a hint of pity on her face as she saw everyone's distrust.

"Really, Phoenix? You're going to trust him?" Deadshot asked.

The Phoenix thought for a minute, then answered, "There isn't anyone I'd rather have watching my back." The Phoenix continued walking, signaling that the conversation was over. Whirlwind noticed the tiniest lift of the corners of Robin's mouth. Whirlwind followed the Phoenix and continued walking.

* * *

The front gate was not as grand as Whirlwind expected. There was a simple pathway leading up to a thick, heavy set door. Except to the stone masonry of the castle, it looked more like an enormous house.

Robin walked up to the gate where a small video was and knocked on the gate. After a moment, an intercom system buzzed. Robin pressed a button and spoke in his still deepening voice, "Grandfather, you said you desired to speak with us."

They waited for several minutes, muscles tightening as they waited for a trap, wondering if they were in serious trouble. The Phoenix was about to press her own com when a voice told them all to come in.

Upon entering the parlor, Whirlwind felt a pressure on her. Something inside the room and house in general did not feel right. All around in her among the ancient walls with centuries old decorations, were modern henchmen with the latest weapons and gear. She thought about it for a moment. A name popped into her mind. It was evil.

"Wait here. I will fetch the master." The man who had led them in here walked off, locking the doors behind him. Whirlwind felt her heart stop. Had they literally walked into a trap? Movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was Bloodhound, looking around, before walking out of the room through a previously invisible door in the wall that had opened up silently. Whirlwind looked around. No one had noticed. They were busy watching the door the man had disappeared behind and waiting.

"Bloodhound, what are you doing?" Whirlwind asked in a hushed voice.

"Going to find something," he whispered back before hiding. Whirlwind sighed, looked back at the Team, then followed him, narrowly missing the door closing behind her as silently and suddenly as it had opened.

"Bloodhound! The door closed. How do we open it?" she asked, as she entered a torchlit descending staircase. Nothing ominous about that, right?

"We'll take a different way out," he said not looking back.

"Can you tell me what you're looking for?" Whirlwind asked after a moment of climbing down the stairs.

"This," Bloodhound muttered as the staircase opened up into a grand cave.

Whirlwind stood there, riveted. There stalagmites and stalactites everywhere, some a foot high, others twice as tall as her. It was a maze to walk through the cave, but Alice understood what was inside the expanse of the cave. A ways away, there was a bubbling lake surrounded by equipment. She quickly followed Bloodhound as he dashed over there.

"Bloodhound, what are you doing?" She whispered harshly.

"My father was brought here when he was my age. I wanted to see it for myself."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"When he was brought here, he was already dead."

Whirlwind tried not to laugh at the absurdity of this statement. "Are you serious?"

"This is called the Lazarus Pit. It has magical abilities and heal any injury, bring back the dead, or keep you young forever."

"Are you out of your flipping mind? This is a joke."

"I didn't expect you to understand. I am only telling you the little I know."

Whirlwind watched as he walked over to the pit and knelt down. "So is that it?" she cried. "Is that why you're on the team? To use us to find a dead man?" She could not describe what she was feeling. It was definitely hurt, as at the moment, the glazed look in Bloodhound's eyes told her that he was barely listening to her.

"I... I'm here be... because..." He couldn't even give her a straight answer.

"Bloodhound, let's go back."

"No, not yet. I need to find something."

"We can do it another-"

"NO! WE CAN'T!" Bloodhound spun around and shouted at her. He grabbed her arms and held her there, staring straight into her eyes. Whirlwind now saw that he was absolutely insane. "I need to find something, anything, that can tell where we can find him. Please, Whirlwind. You don't understand how much this means to me."

"You're right, I don't. My father did the worst things imaginable to me, so I _can't_ understand your obsession with this."

"I... I need someone, Whirlwind. You had your Uncle. I haven't had anyone for four years."

Whirlwind felt the tiniest stab of sympathy in her chest, but stamped on it quickly. Then she sighed. "Alright. What are you looking for?"

Bloodhound sighed in relief and the craze from earlier faded from his dark eyes. "Search the computers for anything that mentions Jason Todd." He started to work, then turned back around, smiling at Whirlwind. "Thank you."

Whirlwind smiled back and began to search computers for any evidence of this Jason Todd that Bloodhound was so desperate to find. She hoped that he would not be disappointed. Her hoped was validated. Within a moment of quick searching, a file popped up on her screen.

"Bloodhound..."

"What did you find?" Within less than a second, he was at her side, startlingly close.

"Here, it mentions an experiment on a young man called J. Todd. It had everything on whether or not it was a success, and from the looks of it, it wasn't. It says that the pit brought on insanity and extreme violence, but that simply could have been a result from before. It was a variable they could not control. It even has an address." For the first time since meeting the cocky boy at the Crossroads, she saw him smile genuinely for the first time.

"I have a memory card. I'm going to download the file... Um, thanks, Whirlwind."

After a moment or two with relief heavy and thick in the air, they were finished and as Bloodhound said, they took another exit up to the castle. There they entered the hallway just outside the room where they had been locked in. Bloodhound experimentally looked at the lock, grinned slyly, then easily picked it, muttering something about amateurs.

When they walked in the door, everyone was still there, waiting. Cherufe was bored out of his mind as he was counting something on the ceiling. Whirlwind couldn't figure out what. The Phoenix and Deadshot were talking about fighting techniques and challenging one another to a sparring match when they got of there. Robin was missing, but that was put to the back of her mind as everyone came up to them and asked where they were.

"Bloodhound found a secret passage. Sorry we didn't tell you. It closed on us pretty fast." Whirlwind explained, covering for Bloodhound. She saw the slight smile of his mouth out of her peripheral vision.

"We're just glad you're alright. They figured out pretty quickly that you were gone, but In Another World is back up under the title The New Team. Check it out!only after we did before they came back. They took Robin and haven't seen or heard anything since. That was almost an hour ago. I hope he's okay." Kid Flash said rapidly. Whirlwind was only just being able to understand her when she got like this.

"Did you guys find anything?" the Phoenix asked.

"Nothing really. We were mostly trying to find our way out of there," Bloodhound added.

"Okay. Now let's get Robin and get out of here. We've waited long enough.

* * *

They searched until they found Robin, talking with his grandfather at the sixth or seventh floor of the castle. Whirlwind almost expected him to be talking comfortably with him, but anyone could see that he was clearly not happy there. Ra's al Ghul stood up, about to shout about the importance of privacy, especially among family.

"al Ghul, we've waited long enough. Where's the intel you promised us?" The Phoenix asked, her eyes narrowing.

His eyes narrowed, and for a moment, Whirlwind wondered whether or not they would be tossed back into a less comfortable room. However, Ra's reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a file. "It's all I've gathered on the Hell Squad."

"I doubt it," Deadshot pointed out. The Phoenix must have filled her in on al Ghul's untrustworthiness and secret agenda.

"Thanks, al Ghul. We appreciate it." The Phoenix politely took the file.

"Yes, I supposed you do... Either way, get out of here now. I promise to give you a ten minute head start if you leave right away before I send the Shadows after you. Loiter around, and you will be dead before you reach the front door."

The Phoenix nodded and walked out of the door, taking the Team with her.

"Can we trust him?" Cherufe asked quietly as they made their way down the several flights of stairs.

"I'd rather play it safe. And even if al Ghul is a villain, he has his own sense of chivalry and honor. It makes him more dangerous sometimes as he twists it to his own will, but he won't break it. Come on, let's go. I'd rather not stay around and find out.

Cherufe nodded and Ra's al Ghul kept his word. They reached the jet in less than five and were long out of reach before his Shadows could find them. So they hoped.

* * *

When they got back to the cave, everyone was crowding around the file that the Phoenix had gathered. They had called Batman in to inform them about their success, but he had yet to make an appearance. When Sophia opened the file, her mask barely off, a half dozen letters flowed out. Each one was addressed to one of them.

"Should we read them out loud?" Orion asked quietly.

"They are for everyone else to read alone. If you desire sharing them, then that is your choice and your's alone," Damian said. He had announced as soon as they got on the plane that while he would help the team out in any way he could, he would not join it full time as everyone else had. Iris was the only one upset. Everyone else was a little relieved.

"Your's isn't here, Damian," Alice pointed out.

Damian was quiet for a moment. "I got mine from al Ghul himself." The team left it at that deciding not to ask prying questions..

"O. Days." Sophia handed him the letter with his cursive name on the front of the envelope.

"E. Lesnicki." Emily took hers.

"I. West." Iris slowly took the letter. It was the only thing she had ever done slowly.

"S. Rivers." Sophia put hers at the bottom.

"A. Duncan." Alice took hers as if it were about to explode.

"J. Todd? Who's J. Todd?"

Alice snuck a glance as Jasper, but he shook his head, saying, "I don't know. Sounds like a dead man." Alice winced, knowing how much it hurt him to say those words.

"Anyone want to watch the DVD?" Sophia asked, holding it carefully in her hands.

The team nodded slowly as she put it onto the giant monitor after scanning it for any viruses. The screen flickered to life and Ra's al Ghul's face was there.

"For the young heroes. What I am about to show you is only a fraction of what the Hell Squad really is. They are perfect at keeping secrets. That is why I am sharing what I know. I cannot stand it when I cannot know about them. In return for this, you will likewise share what you find out with me. My grandson will make sure of it."

A series of clips came up, mostly lab videos and a scientist explaining something called a metagene. There were a few subjects who were always screaming. Once, an image of a dead child being dragged away, with a voice saying it was a failure. Her body could not handle the introduction of the metagene. Alice felt sick as she recognized the voice. It was her father's.

She quickly looked away and opened her letter. In neat, beautifully cursive letters, two words were written.

_You're next._

* * *

**AN: So what do you guys think? Tell me with a review!**


	3. Chapter 3: Head in the Clouds

**AN: Hey, everyone. Here is Chapter 3. It was in part influenced by my friend and her fanfic, _Head in the Clouds. _You should go read it. It's good. Oh, and these are the characters being introduced. **

**Maria Kwan- property of Aqua Stranger**

**S.I.N- Flying Jay**

**Also, I am going on vacation to North Carolina, so I won't update for at least the next two weeks. Sorry. :(**

**Well, here you go. Chapter 3!**

* * *

Orion toppled over as he was trying to get ready for the beach barbecue the team had planned to celebrate their first real mission. They had all been a little put off by the messages that al Ghul had sent. No one has shared what was inside. They all sensed that they had disturbed everyone hence the barbecue. Sophia's dad and Batman who would in casual wear would be cooking tonight. However, as Orion stood up, he saw his on his desk, half open, with the words that had given him nightmares.

_Why did you run?_

Orion reached out his hand, but pulled it, scared of touching the accursed words. He wiped away the tear that had appeared on his cheek. He wouldn't give in to the fear that threatened to consume him after he woke up sweating in the middle of the night. He couldn't give in. For everyone's sake.

Orion distracted himself by thinking of what Emily would be wearing. It wasn't perverted in anyway, but he still looked forward to seeing her in a swimsuit. She was someone that Orion had been glad to get to know. Seeing her at the Crossroads and now on the team was Orion's only salvation. And she had opened up more. Instead of the guarded girl who was wary of everyone, she had smiled more often. Orion thought he might have been part of the reason she smiled, but he also knew it was because she felt more safe here than wherever she was before. And if she was happy, Orion was happy.

Man, could that girl make him smile.

Orion walked out to the briefing room where everyone was ready. Sophia was wearing a royal blue two piece. Iris was wearing a bright green tankini. Orion noticed how alike the two could look. Jasper was wearing simple black short. Alice was wearing a yellow one piece. And Emily. He tried not to stare too much at her. However, she wearing a red two piece that fit her perfectly. It showed off her tan skin and long legs. Her hair was pulled into a side ponytail and Orion thought she looked absolutely gorgeous.

"Hey, Orion." Emily smiled with a blush at him as he walked up.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I can't wait. I haven't even been to the beach before."

Orion stared. "How could you not have been to the beach?"

"I never really left Detroit. Sure, I've been to the lake, but this is different." Sheepishly, Emily blushed an even deeper color.

Orion smiled. "Well, then. I'm just going to have to show you around. Can you surf?" Emily looked at him with a face. "Good. It gives me an excuse to teach you." Orion smiled even more as Emily smiled back at him.

* * *

Down the beach, the others had gone off. Damian had showed up with his smirk. However, before he could say anything, Iris grabbed him and dragged him off to go gather shells with her. Orion laughed as the boy who was only a year younger than himself looked at helplessly. Sophia and Alice headed off talking about some girl thing that Orion wasn't going to pretend to understand. Jasper was helping Sophia's dad and another man unload the barbeque and set everything up.

Emily looked up at him expectantly. Orion remembered his promise and sent up a small prayer that he wouldn't make a complete fool of himself. He grabbed two surfboards and handed one to Emily. He led her to the ocean where she picked up surfing more easily than he had. As they were sitting in the water waiting for the next wave, he joked, "Are you sure you don't know how to surf? Or maybe you're a mermaid and just haven't told anyone yet?"

Emily laughed, a contagious laugh that Orion want to hold onto forever. "Let's go back. It looks like burgers are almost ready and I'm starving."

Slowly, they paddled back to the shoreline where the team was gathering. Damian was standing protectively next to Iris and Batman (He looked really weird in casual clothes. Not bad, but his hair was a lot shaggier that Orion thought and he looked younger.) was trying not to tease the kid too much. Riley had his hand on Sophia's shoulder much to her chagrin with Jasper nearby. It sounded like they were talking about the best way to knock someone unconscious. Alice was watching helping herself to food. Orion was putting the surfboards away and about to put his arm over Emily's shoulder when...

The beach exploded.

Orion stood up to see the beach in flames and people running. He saw the team helping others get off the beach. He saw Emily on the ground unconscious with burns all over her. He tried to go to her, but stumbled and fell down. He looked at his leg. A piece of metal was in his leg. A memory of one of his teachers saying never to pull out something imbedded into you. He groaned and crawled over to her. She was badly burned but before his eyes, her skin began to knit itself together and the burns faded into scars.

A voice from the water disturbed Orion's thoughts. He looked over. A boy of his own age with white hair and a metal suit stared right at him, and shouted, his voice amplified several times over, "When you want the cure, she'll take you to me." The boy flew into the air due to his suit and was gone.

Darkness covered Orion's eyes.

* * *

When Orion woke up, a girl was standing over him. He was startled by how pretty she was (not as beautiful as Emily, mind you, but still pretty). She looked of Asian descent and perhaps his own age. She had her hand on his chest, keeping him from sitting up too quickly.

"It's okay, Orion. You're back in the cave in the infirmary. My name is Maria. I'm a friend of Sophia's."

"Emily?" he whispered.

"She's fine. A lot better than anyone else surprisingly enough. Except for a few scrapes, she's uninjured. On the other hand, you suffered several broken ribs and lost a significant amount of blood. If Sophia hadn't called me quickly, you most likely would have died."

"How...?"

"How are you okay? I'm a healer. Using my own energy, I can heal others of practically any injury. However, the greater the injury, the more time and energy it takes. I've stayed up two days on you, making you sure you were okay. By the way, you owe me for the twenty some coffees I've had."

"Where...?"

"Where am I from? Shining Falls like Sophia. I went to the performing arts school there. I had a part time job at a coffee shop. Sophia actually found me there when she saw me heal a cut on my hand, a mistake on my part."

Orion tried to sit up, but Maria kept him down. I'm sorry, Orion, but you need to stay down. You've only just woken and are still weak. I'll send for someone."

Within moments Alice was there with her arm in a sling and burns over her face. They were faded, only slightly puffy and red, but they still didn't look too good. She had face on herself that Orion knew from experience was that of one carrying bad news. She sat on the edge of his bed.

"What's wrong?" Orion asked steadily.

"Orion... you're not going to like what I have to say."

"What's wrong?" he reiterated.

"How well do you know Emily?"

"What do you mean?"

"How well do you know her?" Alice restated.

"We met at the Crossroads a while back and seemed to hit it off. It's only gotten better since we've joined the team."

"Do you know why she joined the team?"

"Something about helping her mom."

"So you really don't know her that well?"

"I guess not, but does that matter?" Alice sighed, and Orion knew what was coming. Before she could even speak, he cried out. "No, she wouldn't do that. She's not that type of person."

"How would you know?"

"I, I just know!"

"Orion, you were there." Alice grew calmer before continuing. "There were remnants of the bomb materials on her hands. She probably assumed that the ocean would wash it off. Not to mention that fact that the explosive was underneath you guys. How is that you nearly died, but she is almost unharmed? "

Orion opened his mouth to defend the girl who made him smile when he thought back to the incident. Emily had healed before his eyes. He knew from her record that she had no powers. The only way she could have healed herself was if she did which meant she lied. Alice nodded. She was thinking the exact same thing. If Emily had lied about that, then what else was she lying about?

"She wouldn't..."

"Orion, you were the closest to her out of all of us. Would you mind talking to her?" Alice asked, her eyes gentle.

Orion nodded and a little hesitantly accepted the wheelchair.

* * *

Emily was in a small glass room. She was pacing nervously back and forth, back and forth. She was restless. When she saw Orion, her face leaped then fell when she saw he was in a wheelchair and being pushed by Alice. Her eyes narrowed seeing her, distrust filling them.

"Would you mind leaving us alone for a minute, Alice?" Orion asked.

Alice nodded. "Just shout if you need us." She left the two alone.

"Will you tell me why I'm here, Orion?" Emily's voice was filled with accusation.

"They think you were the one to blow up the beach." Orion tried to keep his voice calm but knew he was failing miserably and the chord of betrayal was there.

"What beach? When did we go down there?" Emily seemed frantic and confused.

"Today, Emily. We went down there today! It was to celebrate and get our minds off of things. We had a barbeque going. I-" Orion's voice cracked. "I taught you how to surf! How do you not remember any of that?" Orion's voice was a full fledged shout.

"Orion, believe me when I say I don't remember any of that. The last thing I remember was opening my letter from Ra's al Ghul. Everything is blank after that."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know!" Emily started to cry but was oblivious to the tears falling down her cheeks. "I blacked out Orion! How could I know?"

Orion nodded and walked out of the room, trying to ignore his feelings. He noticed the camera in the corner and knew that everyone else knew the contents of the conversation. No wonder Alice agreed to leave him alone. The team was waiting just outside the door, sympathy in their eyes. Iris smiled, hoping it would help. It only made Orion feel worse.

"Is she telling the truth?" Orion didn't want the tornado of feelings to continue. He wanted to know what to feel.

"I think so." Batman walked up to them. "As she was unconscious, we ran a series of tests. We did so on all of you, actually. She was the only one whose blood results came back irregular."

"What do you mean?" Sophia asked. Orion thought he heard the same amount of feelings in her voice. Perhaps he could trust Sophia when it came down to dealing with Emily. At least she would do the right thing, he supposed.

"We found a unique protein that wasn't in her blood before. After further testing, we discovered a parasite attached to the back of the brain. it was most likely al Ghul who gave it to her while on your last mission. And because of this, it is small and unfortunately has burrowed its way into the brain in such a way that we cannot remove it surgically."

"What does that mean?" Orion heard his voice get hard. He clenched his hands, trying to control himself. Now was not the time to go critical. However, if he did go critical, then there was nothing anyone could do about it, not even himself.

"It means that we need to find out how to get it out."

* * *

Orion went to her room without a word. He wasn't sure why he was drawn to Emily's room, but something told him the answer lay in there. In a manner similar to his, he saw her letter from al Ghul. Orion used a pencil not wanting to touch it himself in case that was how Emily had contracted the parasite and pushed it open.

_If you had taken it, you could have saved her._

Orion felt an immediate sense of guilt at reading something personal. He was instantly curious though and began to wonder though he couldn't even fathom a guess. Alice was right. He really had no idea who Emily was.

He saw her mostly black Deadshot uniform. There was some dark camouflage thrown in there on the shirt. Orion knew the reason she had chosen this uniform though. Her grandmother was one of the first women to fight in the military and she had loved and admired her greatly. It was her way of honoring her. Orion smiled. At least he knew why she had chosen that uniform.

Orion sighed and left her room. While he was still uncertain about his feelings, he knew one thing. Emily would never do what she unless she had good reason. If it was a parasite controlling her, that was a good reason. If she had another good motive, then that was a good reason. He just hoped it was something that contradicted who he thought she was.

He reached the briefing room after wandering for a while where the team was meeting. They were discussing how to drive the parasite out and seemed to failing. Sophia had her eyes closed and seemed in deep meditation. Iris was pacing frantically ignoring her mother's calming words. Alice was talking with Jasper about known medicines that might work, though they were unsure if any would. Something sparked in the back of Orion's head.

"What about the boy?"

"What boy?" Batman asked.

"There was a boy who looked half robot or something and had white hair. He said that he had the cure."

"Right," Jasper added. "I remember him. He looked really familiar, but from where, I can't be sure."

Sophia was staring at a picture Batman had brought up on the computer from earlier that day really hard, frustration growing on her face. Then it clicked. "He died a couple months ago."

"What?" Everyone was confused.

"In the paper a while ago, on the front page was a boy from Gotham who had died in an explosion. I remember because his hair was pure white. I remember thinking that it couldn't have been that color naturally."

"So now's he alive?"

"I don't think so. I know that in Shining Falls, when there is a major explosion, sometimes there aren't any remains to identify, but if people know that that person was there, then there is a month waiting period given before being declared dead."

"That is possible..." Batman stroked his chin, puzzled by the boy who came back to the living.

"Let's find him," Orion said.

* * *

Cherufe was sitting in the jet watching as Deadshot came aboard. Batman had authorized her release, but only on the condition that she be guarded the entire time. As she came aboard, she was wearing advanced handcuffs designed to sedate the prisoner or if that didn't work, electrocute said prisoner. Cherufe knew because he had worn them once before.

When she sat down, she was strapped tightly in place and Bloodhound sat across from her with a hard look in his eyes. Phoenix came over to Cherufe and asked him to join her up in the cockpit saying it was time for him to learn. He didn't buy it for a second, knowing they wanted to keep him as far away as possible because of his feelings.

Sitting down in the copilot seat was strange for Cherufe. It seemed unnatural. Before he could think, his mouth opened and, "When is my turn to guard her?"

"Cherufe..." Phoenix seemed unsure of how to say it. "Your relationship with her-"

"She doesn't know what's going on. She is confused and a little scared. My relationship with her puts me a position to calm her down. Tell me that her willing participation is not a benefit to the team."

"Alright, you'll be on the next shift." Cherufe could tell that Phoenix didn't like the idea. It was silent for the next two hours until she excused him to relieve Bloodhound. As Cherufe did so, he could tell that Bloodhound was skeptical and went to the cockpit to discuss the decision with the Phoenix. Cherufe could have cared less what he thought that that precise moment. He was with Deadshot. He would help her.

"Are you alright," he asked after a moment.

"Peachy." She wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Look, I get you're mad, but we're doing what we have to, not only for the team's sake, but also for the your's. If you black out again-"

"Look, I really don't want to talk to anyone, let alone you." Cherufe was startled by her ferocity, especially since it was directed at him. She noticed his silent pain and whispered, "It's just... you let me down back there."

As if Cherufe wasn't already feeling guilty enough at that moment. He resigned to watching her and she glared at him whenever they made eyes contact which was frequently. After a hour or so of this routine, he noticed that her eyes began to glaze over. Her head went down and she became unsettling silent. She stopped moving.

Cherufe was about to speak, see if she was okay when her head came back up. Her eyes were still unfocused, but now her lips were smiling a dark smile. She broke through the jet restraints on her body and hit Cherufe over the head with her fists. He went down and his eyes swarmed with colors. He dimly saw Whirlwind and Kid Flash go to stop her, but they were out in a second. Bloodhound came out with the controller to the cuffs and electrocutes her, ignoring the sedative. While she tensed at first from shock, she smiled a crooked smile and as the volts were still pouring into her body, choked Bloodhound until he passed out or died. Cherufe was sure which. He was stumbling up when the Phoenix came out and created fire from whips. He would have to ask her how to do that later, but Deadshot picked up the cuff controller, and released herself. Somehow, Cherufe was never sure how, she got the cuffs on the Phoenix and electrocuted her until she was on her knees. After she fell, Deadshot walked slowly over to Cherufe who was trying to stand up. He looked her in the eyes. A small sharp piece of metal appeared from her clothes. Cherufe wondered how she smuggled it on board, but his thoughts were interrupted by it being thrusted into stomach. He stared at her and saw not Emily, but Deadshot, the girl who had nearly been killed by her father all throughout her childhood. Deadshot, the villain, not the hero Cherufe thought she was. She left him there bleeding.

"Cherufe, are you alright?" Phoenix asked him, slowly standing. She winced as she helped Bloodhound up. Cherufe slowly stood.

"It's a good thing I asked your dad to build in that special armor." Cherufe smiled. The packet of fake blood designed to fool enemies had worked. Only he didn't expect Deadshot to be the one to fall for it.

"A very good thing." The Phoenix help Kid Flash and Whirlwind up who looked really groggy. "KF, you'll need stitches after this." She tossed a towel to a sighing Kid Flash who started to apply pressure to the head wound. "Bloodhound, can you take over flying? I'm going to make sure the tracker is online and working."

Bloodhound nodded and walked away, leaving Cherufe to ask, "Tracker? What tracker?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you at the time Cherufe, but we had a small tracker placed inside Deadshot in case something like this ever happened. We didn't want to lose her or if we did, she could take us right to them. I guess this is what the boy meant by she'll know where to find him."

Cherufe nodded, his head aching from the blow he received. "And now we can find her and the cure?"

"I hope so. And from what I'm seeing," the Phoenix said as she looked over a monitor, "it looks like she's heading to Augusta Maine."

* * *

Cherufe stepped out of the jet which had landed a few blocks away from where Deadshot's signal was being broadcasted. The Phoenix nodded; they knew the plan. They were to spread out and cover the perimeter of the building where they would wait for the Phoenix's sign to head in. There were four entrances to the building. It was an old warehouse that still held shipping crates for a company long gone. It was just the type of place that someone who didn't want to be noticed to hold up.

Cherufe was standing next to Kid Flash. They had the east entrance, and were waiting for- there it was. A firework in the sky. Night was slowly falling and he knew that it was time to get Emily back.

Kid Flash rushed in ahead of him as decided. KF would do a sweep and see what was happening. If she ran into anything, come back out. After a moment or two, Kid Flash's voice came from the communicator on Cherufe's belt. "All clear. No security, just the boy and Deadshot in the center. I repeat, all clear."

Cherufe ran inside, his body rapidly beginning to sweat though it quickly became steam from his body. He stopped after seeing the steam. He took a deep breath. Now was not the time to lose control and go critical. He waited for his heartbeat to slow down before meeting up with everyone else in the main room. In the center was the boy.

He still had white hair which seemed to glow in the eerily lit room. He was indeed half machine and one of his eyes glowed red. He had a hand on Deadshot who was lying on a table unconscious.

"Stay where you are unless who want her dead. I am in the middle of trying to remove the parasite."

Cherufe's blood was beginning to boil. He had not gone through everything simply to stay put. He stepped forward to be halted by a look from the Phoenix. He watched as the man pulled out a slimy black parasite that writhed and contorted itself trying to get free. The boy lifted his other arm and blasted the parasite into oblivion. He proceeded to finish his "surgery" on Deadshot's head.

"Who are you?" the Phoenix asked.

"You may call me S.I.N. for now. It stands for Systems Inorganic Neutralizer."

"You're a cyborg." Cherufe felt his body begin to burn. Couldn't they put off with the small talk and take Deadshot back already?

"Yes, my father rescued me from an explosion and this was the only way to save my life."

"You don't like it." Alice jumped in. Cherufe saw something on her face. She knew what she was talking about.

"I am alive. That is all that matters."

"Give her back." Cherufe could not ignore the blood roaring in his ears and the heat he felt from deep under the earth. Yes, Orion could feel the very magma underneath them. It was foolish of the boy to come here where the crust was as thin as ice.

"Why should I? She was sent to spy on us bu al Ghul."

"al Ghul? What does he have to do with you? al Ghul is only interest in the Hell Squad," Alice put it.

"Bingo," the boy winked at Alice. Cherufe felt the magma coming closer and closer to him. He sent a prayer up to Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes who had cursed him, that this would work and he wouldn't lose control. If he went critical, then everyone, including himself and Deadshot, would be little more than nothing. "I was sent to dispose of her, but I found his much easier. You see, the parasite cannot handle the time of radiation that leaks from me. So as long as I gave it a way out, it left. It wasn't very hard, but seeing as I have never done head surgery before, it was difficult."

"Give her to us. Now." Orion's voice thundered around them. It no longer seemed his own. It this what happened when he summoned the very heart of his powers?

"Why should I? She's mine. It's not like you can get her back without killing her."

Orion smiled as darkly as Deadshot had earlier before she tried to stab him. "Wrong."

S.I.N was about to laugh when the ground around him began to melt. It was risky with Deadshot so near, but worth it. The boy jumped back, trying to get away from the melting ground. The Phoenix called for him to stop, but he ignored her. He wasn't sure that even if he wanted to he could stop. The lava seemed to flow freeling now of its own free will. It was only to the fast acting of Kid Flash who grabbed Deadshot that Emily didn't die.

Cherufe heard the Phoenix make a decision and ordered everyone to leave. She shouted for Cherufe to, but he could no longer hear her. All he knew was that it felt good to be playing with the lava. It was different from fire, much wilder and more dangerous, but also much more willing to cooperate. He saw everyone leave, but it wasn't until the boy managed to fly away unharmed that Cherufe realized what was happening. He stopped the magma and the majority flowed back down into the earth, but slowly it began to harden on top of the floor. Cherufe was still frustrated that the boy had gotten away.

He made his way outside into the brisk night. The team was still waiting for him, though it looked as if they were about to leave. When the saw him, they all had looks of amazement on them. A little fear too. The Phoenix nodded at him, then ordered everyone back to the jet. They had to get Deadshot back quickly to the cave to be treated.

* * *

Orion was sitting in his room, wondering what to do. Everyone knew the true nature of his powers. Before, when asked, he had simply said fire manipulation like Sophia. Now they knew that he had lied. Well, not exactly lie, but Sophia would say that a lie of omission is still a lie. He knew it would be her to come in to tell him that he was off the team. Her knew it was coming. her had nearly melted a building for Pete's sake. How was that not bad? Perhaps he should leave himself rather than get kicked off...

However, to his surprise, it was Emily who came in. Her long beautiful hair had been shaved, partly for the follow up surgery, but also because she decided it was time. She still looked beautiful though. That was something that would never change. She would be beautiful no matter what.

"Can I sit down?" Emily asked.

Orion nodded, and patted at a spot right next to him. Emily sat down with a shy smile on her face. Orion almost laughed. Emily had never been shy. In fact, when they had first met at the Crossroads, she had called him a bonehead for missing an easy and obvious opening in his opponents defense.

"I... I wanted to say I'm sorry. For everything. Missing you teach my how to surf,hitting you on the head, stabbing you..."

"You didn't actually stab me."

Emily laughed. "It feels like I did. For whatever reason, those are the only memories I have."

"Well," Orion wondered how to make her feel better. "It wasn't you. You'll never have to again."

Emily seemed sad now. "You're right I won't. I'm leaving the team, Orion."

"What?" Orion could not fathom what he was hearing.

"I can't go through with this anymore. At first, it seemed like a great idea. I really wanted to do it and help people. But if something like that ever happens again..."

"It won't."

"I can't live knowing that I did it. I don't care if I wasn't in my right mind. It was still me, I can still remember it. I can't even handle the memories I have... I'm sorry, Orion.'

Orion smiled for the first time since this ordeal began. This made his choice a lot easier. "I'm leaving to."

"Orion, you can't just leave whenever I do-"

"I'm not doing it because of you. Today, seeing you lose control, it hurt me more than you know. And when you were kidnapped or whatever, I lost control. I can't have that happen again. I need to understand my powers. I'm going back home."

"Where's that?"

"Hawaii. I need to see my mom and sister again. Hopefully, the treatments will have worked and my sister will be okay now."

"What was wrong?"

"She had a bone cancer that was uncommon among children, at least as far as cancers go. That's why I fought in the Crossroads. We needed money. I guess it can be misunderstood as running away." Orion chuckled. Was that was Ra's al Ghul had meant in his letter?

"Oh, Orion, I'm so sorry. I'm sure she's okay now. You did win a lot in the Crossroads."

"Thanks, Emily. And for the record, you aren't the only one with those memories. Damian leaked that Batman had them when he was still Robin. He was even crazier than you." Emily laughed, the thought made her feel slightly better. Orion looked at her in her beautiful stormy blue eyes. They had a lot of black eyeliner around them, but it only brought out her eyes. She's so perfect, he thought. Suddenly, he had the urge to do what he had never done before. Orion cupped Emily's face and kissed her softly.


	4. Chapter 4: Not Alone

**Author's Note: Ready to enter into the mind of a madman? Not really, but it was fun to write. I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long and am over a week late. After I got home, I had a couple crazy ideas which you should all check out. Anyways, with those sucking my inspiration, and this being a hard chapter to write, it took a while. Sorry. Memory credit goes to A Tragic Galaxy who sent in the memory when he sent in Jasper's profile. If any of you want to send in a memory attached to your character, feel free! Otherwise, I'll just write them myself. I hope you enjoy everything!**

**Characters Introduced- Owner**

**Natasha Devassie- randomkitty101**

**Leo Hartmann- DarkHyena**

* * *

_"Mom! Where are we going? What's happening?"_

_The explosions frightened him despite his show of bravado, buildings shattering right and left as he followed his mother in their panicked flight from the blazing inferno. His foot caught on a broken pipe and he sprawled across the littered pavement, only to be dragged to his feet and forced to run once more._

_"Where's Dad? He said we should wait for him!"_

_Lianette's soot marred face, once full of laughter and light, was now drawn in bitterness and despair as she whirled to face her son._

_"He's not coming, Jasper. He's never coming back."_

_Such blunt, cruel words chilled him with their stark reality. Surely this was not his mother who was speaking in so harsh a tone. Lianette was always gentle, her words soft and her eyes dancing. Now her gaze reflected the fire spreading from the next block, her voice cold and unfeeling as the frosted windowpanes in December. He flinched as another gasoline vent exploded in the distance, asking shakily,_

_"What do you mean? He promised he'd meet up with us, Mom. He'll be here."_

_He could feel the warm shield of Liannette's magic enveloping them, protecting them from falling embers as she knelt and placed her hands on his shoulders._

_"Listen to me, and listen closely," she ordered curtly, her words devoid of the ray of hope he sought. "Your father is dead, Jasper. You will never see him again."_

_He reeled as though from a blow, stepping back from her in denial. His father was too skilled for a mere fire to destroy him. Even if he had been hurt, there were others who fought alongside him. Jasper brought to mind the one in particular Jason had grudgingly mentioned they go to should they need help._

_"Batman would have - "_

_"Batman let him die!"_

* * *

Jasper was fidgeting with his bow tie, trying to make it any more comfortable, though he doubted it ever would. His entire life he had grown up wearing t-shirts and jeans and the occasional street fighting gear. He wasn't sure how he would survive that night.

Tonight was a science convention which Sophia's father had to attend. His daughter would be going along with his wife. However, something in the file that Ra's al Ghul had given them warned them that something would be emerging from the particular convention, so the entire team was going undercover. Unfortunately, when Jasper heard undercover, he thought of crawling through air vents, avoiding enemy targets, small explosions. Jasper did not think of wearing a tux.

He walked out to where everyone else was standing in the briefing room. He was now the only guy on the team, though Damian was also there, much to Jasper's chagrin. They had hung out once outside of the team, and both had not enjoyed it as Damian though he was a filthy lowlife and Jasper thought him a spoiled brat. Besides that, they were the only two in tuxedos. Jasper felt something in his chest that played his masculinity at being the only guy among the team as Damian was only there part time and he knew a couple of friends who would be patting him on the back if they could see him, but at the same time, he heard his mother's voice telling him not to objectify women and Jasper felt guilt enter his chest.

Iris was wearing a short green dress that went to her knees. It had short sleeves and the skirt was frilly and poofy and had quite the assortment of rhinestones. She was standing next to Damian who while trying to stay aloof, had the smallest smile of satisfaction on his face. Alice was wearing a long royal purple halter top dress that seemed flimsy to Jasper if anything happened. She stood next to Sophia, both of which were laughing.

Sophia made Jasper's heart stop though. She was wearing a long midnight blue dress with a slit that ran up her leg to mid thigh. It was strapless and had a sweetheart neckline. The dress was embroidered with silver thread at the bottom to look like the night sky. She wore silver earrings and a simple silver necklace with only a small white star.

Jasper shook his head, throwing such distractions out of his head. He had to focus tonight and watch out for his teammates, not watch his teammates. He saw Tigress walk in the room with another girl behind her. Iris ran up and showed her mom her dress who complimented it nicely. Iris knew the girl and Jasper nearly went deaf with the following screaming.

"Tigress, who is this?" Sophia's dad asked who was standing protectively behind Sophia. Perhaps he saw how Jasper looked at her?

"This is the Natasha. Her father is presenting at the convention. She's joining the team, Riley." Natasha was short, barely reaching five feet with long dark hair and hazel eyes. She was wearing a black long black dress which hung loosely on her young and small body.

"Hello!" Jasper was startled by her high-pitched thick Russian accent.

"Glad to have you on the team, Natasha," Sophia smiled at her.

Jasper nodded at her, welcoming her with the rest of the team. Then the discussion turned towards what al Ghul meant with his cryptic warning. Science is the root of all evil. No one was certain what it meant, though their best guess was that it was referring to the Global Science Convention of the Future that was taking place in Shining Falls this year. They decided to wait and see what happened at the Convention.

* * *

Jasper tugged at his collar as he walked into the tall building where the Convention was taking place. He tried to pull it looser so he could breath through the tux but felt it impossible. How wondered how anyone breathed in those things and began to laugh at the girls for complaining about how horrible the corsets were. Try a bowtie, ladies!

He was immediately met by the white walls and high ceilings. The lights were diamond chandeliers that glowed like a thousand stars. He smiled, remembering that it had been awhile since he simply gazed at the stars. He hoped he would get the chance when he got back to the mountain. Then there were the people. Hundreds of people were there, all dressed up for the occasion as if they were attending the Queen of England's coronation. Jasper smiled, remembering seeing that though it had been many years. He had been a child then standing next to his mother when they had both been happy. His father had been there too though only briefly and because his son begged him to. Jasper hoped he could see him once more.

Slowly people began to dance as a buffet on the other far wall started. Jasper was inclined to go to the buffet which he ended up doing. As he found some of best finger sandwiches he ever had, he noticed Sophia who was talking and smiling with another boy with blond hair and blue eyes. The boy was strong was training for something over the years, but Jasper smiled in the small thought that he could easily take this boy down if he had to.

Jasper shook his head. What was he thinking? Why was he jealous over some boy who was talking to Sophia? He saw her everyday and knew her on a more personal level. He thought for a moment. Actually, he didn't. The only time she had ever acknowledged him was when she was trying to annoy Damian and when they were all having a team conversation. But she never talked to him one on one as she did with Alice or Iris.

Jasper realized what he was thinking and quietly walked away to a bathroom where he proceeded to splash his face with water. He looked at himself quietly in the mirror and stared back into his dark eyes. They hadn't always been that color; once they were a deep royal purple. But now, he enjoyed the look his eyes gave him. It reflected the chaos inside of him...

He wondered what it was about Sophia that captured him. He had resented the fact that she forced him to join that team, but that bitterness was fading though he would always hate that she forced into anything. So what was it about her that made him want to make her smile and laugh?

He walked out, hoping these feelings would leave. However, the first thing he saw was Sophia had stopped talking with the boy, but instead was now dancing with him. Jasper felt his heart race and knowing he was about to make an idiot out of himself, he walked over to her.

"Excuse me, but may I cut in?" Jasper beamed, throwing his best fake smiled towards the boy.

"Of course," the boy backed down, but threw Sophia a look that showed that he would come back for more. Jasper took Sophia by the hand, led her to the where the elderly were dancing a waltz all the while ignoring her glare that pierced his skin. He took her waist and hand and she reluctantly placed her hand on his shoulder. He began to lead her through the waltz.

"Who was he?" Jasper asked, a desire to know the boy's name.

"Leo Hartmann. He is the son of a scientist presenting her. Now why did you cut in on our dance?"

Jasper grinned crookedly. "That wasn't dancing. That was swaying back and forth. This is dancing." Jasper spun her around and almost smiled genuinely when he saw the amazement on her face.

"Okay, now I'm curious. Where did you learn to dance?"

"My mother," Jasper said before he could stop himself. He saw Sophia's look and knew he would have to tell her more lest she pester him for all eternity. Now that he thought about that though, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea... He decided to lie, to keep himself secret but give her what she need. "We were attending a friend's wedding and there was going to be a lot of fancy dancing so my mom taught me how."

"That's actually really sweet. Do you still talk to her?"

Jasper looked past her trying to focus on something so he wouldn't feel the familiar burn of the tears that he knew would come. "No."

"Why not?" Jasper hated how she asked all the trigger questions that he would be forced to answer on some level.

"I left a while ago when I ten. After a while of being lost, I tried to find her again, but couldn't." Jasper avoided Sophia's gaze that continued to gaze at him. If only she stopped looking at him like that then maybe he could stop the sorrow of the loss of his mom.

"You know, the League has access to information that most people don't have or even know they have. I'm sure we could-"

"No." Jasper finally looked into her eyes and found an odd sense of comfort he hadn't known since he first found himself in a different world. "She probably died a long time ago."

Jasper saw she was about to say more, but then a speaker announced overhead that the presentation would begin and for all scientists to make there way to the theatre room. Jasper saw that Sophia would ask him about his later, but at the moment, he was all too happy for a reason to lead his friend to the presentation. As he walked in, he saw Sophia's father looking at him. Jasper knew Riley had seen the whole thing and would be keeping a very close eye on him.

Jasper saw Damian and Iris walk in together and wondered if they were officially an item. They had been hanging out quite a bit since they met, but Jasper shrugged it off. It could mean anything. Besides, Iris immediately walked over to her friend, Natasha and they sat next to each other. Alice walked up to the him and Sophia and sat on the opposite side of Sophia. Jasper ignored the look that passed between the two of them and sighed knowing the girls would be talking profusely about him later. Perhaps he should listen in?

Before Jasper could make up his mind, the lights dimmed and the stage lights lit up. On stage was a woman with long blond hair and blue eyes. Jasper instantly recognized that this woman must be Leo's mother and his suspicion was confirmed as he walked on stage beside her. He heard Alice whisper how hot he was while Sophia nodded in agreement. Jasper gritted his teeth. He had barely made an impression with Sophia.

"Our first presenter, Dr. Kate Hartmann!" The director of the night announced in an all too perky voice for Jasper's liking. He knew that he would never, ever, like this kid.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. I am honored to be here tonight and that you all care enough to listen to me. But tonight, I am only presenting the research. My son, Leonardo, will do the rest," she said into the microphone and Jasper saw the scientists lean forward in their seats, including Riley. He supposed it was the fact that her son was presenting.

"As you all are aware, energy is becoming a more valuable resource and everyone is looking for a new way to make it easier and more accessible to the general public. My research involved exploring an energy that everyone knows and understands, but had been previously inaccessible to humanity before now. Cragen fusion."

Jasper heard the gasps from the room and furrowed his brow. He felt slightly out of place, not knowing what was meant by Cragen fusion and feeling a little dumb after she said everyone knew it. He leaned over to ask Sophia, but she leaned forward, her brow furrowing in curiosity like her father. She knew what this woman was talking about.

"A while ago, I managed to get my hands on a Cragen fusion power cell. I won't discuss you with the shopping details." A few laughed, a few more groaned. The rest were silent. "I began my research to come across a fantastic discovery. After the Reach attacked us a while back, humanity as a race lept forward with the knowledge of metagenes. Now, we make another step forward."

"Ladies and gentlemen, my research has led me to an incredible revelation about Cragen fusion. Cragan fusion emits a particular type of radiation that activates metagenes. My son, who deserves the real credit here for assisting in this discovery, will show you his metagene."

Jasper heard gasps around the room. He had heard of metagenes, but he had never really understood them. Then Leo took over and punched his fists together, blue flame running through his hair, startling the audience. Then he began a series of moves that Jasper recalled as a boxing training routine. And with each punch and kick, blue energy would roll off of Leo's skin and body. Jasper leaned forward finally with the rest of the audience. Who was this kid?

As Leo bowed and stepped back, a fury of questions were shouted out and Jasper was reminded of seagulls fighting over a slice of bread. Dr. Hartmann picked out one scientist in particular.

"How did you come upon this?"

She smiled in a sweet way the sickened Jasper. It was too sweet for his taste. "I had reached a block in my research. I had forgotten to pick up Leo from school and was about to rush out to get him. Then, he came rushing in, excited to see me. We sat there and talked for quite sometime. Unfortunately, I left the power cell alone for too long and forgot to release the energy buildup. Leo did the brave thing and ran out of the room and straight into the reactor where he successfully bonded with the energy, now controlling it with ease as you can see. It was this that pressed me further in my research which led me to discover that Cragen fusion activates human metagenes as it activated Leo's."

"What makes you think this isn't just a once in a lifetime incident?"

"If you'll allow me, I will show you my tests-"

"Just one more question, before you continue, doctor." A man stood up with dark hair and deathly pale skin. He was in the front row and immediately, Jasper felt something wrong.

"Of course."

"What makes you think that the Hell Squad will allow you to keep this discovery and share it with the world?" He raised his arm and shot Dr. Kate Hartmann in the stomach where she collapsed. Leo ran to her side and applied pressure to the wound, tears streaming down his face. Screams erupted from the crowd as scientists everywhere began to run out of the room with the exception of her team.

Jasper was the first to make it down the steps. He ran up to the man, preparing his fists when the man jumped straight in the air and latched on to the ceiling some thirty feet up. Jasper stared, about to complain about how ridiculous that was. However, Sophia had reached him and shot up a column of fire to the ceiling, but when the wind from Alice extinguished it, the man was gone. Iris ran up to Leo with Damian following close behind her. He pulled out a utility belt from out of nowhere leaving Jasper very confused, but he applied bandages to the rapidly bleeding wound. Jasper ran up there and saw Riley calling 911. Jasper breathed and saw Leo muttering the same thing over and over again.

"Please don't die, Mom. Please don't die. I need you, Mom. You can't leave me. Not yet. Not like Dad. Please Mom. Don't die on me."

Jasper at first thought him weak for crying so easily, but then realized that it was only because of so much love in the boy's heart. He instantly felt guilty, partly for blaming Leo, but also because he knew he would never come close to loving anyone so much. He still didn't like Leo for dancing with Sophia, but he let that drop in the matter.

* * *

After the ambulance took Dr. Hartmann away, Riley had offered Leo to stay with the team back at the mountain. Jasper was not happy with the arrangements, but he kept his mouth shut, figuring that this kid did not need the snarky remarks Jasper had on the tip of his tongue. After a hot shower and brief discussion on who that man was, Jasper had gone and showered, enjoying the hot water running down his body. When he finished toweling off, he saw Leo walking in the shower as well, his eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Hey, man, are you okay?" Jasper was not used to caring, let alone with people he didn't particularly like, but he thought of his mother and knew she would do everything in her power to make the boy alright. Jasper wouldn't go that far, but he wasn't going to let things go either.

"Not really. The hospital called and my mom will be alright, though it looks like she might be temporarily paralyzed. If she isn't permanently paralyzed, then she'll need a lot of physical therapy to regain muscle control. Which means I won't have an easy time for the next year."

Jasper felt his heart tighten, though he understood from the moment he saw Leo's mom that she might never walk again. He had seen that injury too many times in his lifetime to believe that everything would just be alright. "Well, we do have this miracle worker called Maria. She can heal people so she might be able to help with that."

Leo nodded. "Thanks. Sophia offered that and I think I might take you up on that. She's an incredible girl."

Jasper felt his blood pressure rise. "She really is."

Leo looked at Jasper. "No... You don't.. Really? I never would have pinned her down as your type."

Jasper felt the blood rise to his cheeks. He had really done it now. But if he acted like it, he might get Leo to back off. "She isn't afraid to tell me I'm wrong. I like that in a girl."

"Well, I was going to say something, but I think I'll drop it. She does seem to like you."

"She could care less about me. She thinks I'm just a pain in the butt."

"She does." Leo smiled slightly and Jasper felt like punching him in the jaw and wiping off that smug smile. "But she also thinks there's hope for you. You came up in most of what we talked about. She thinks you have what it takes."

Now Jasper allowed himself a small grin. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. I have to admit, I like her, but you seem to have caught her in whatever game it is you're playing."

Jasper thought that perhaps he didn't completely not like this boy.

* * *

Jasper walked outside of the cave onto the top of the mountain where he planned to fulfill his promise to himself to watch the stars as he did with his mother. He wanted to see if the stars were the same here as they were back home. He doubted they were, but a small part him hoped they were.

He saw a small form already there and recognized the fiery red hair as Sophia's on a blanket. He smiled in a way that only Sophia could make him do, but he quickly hid it as she raised her head to see who it was. She smiled when she saw it was him and patted the ground next to her. Jasper eagerly lay next to her on the blanket as she moved over her.

"I always feel so at home when I am up high and gazing at the stars. I love Shining Falls, but there is something about being up here that just calls me, like I should be up there too, you know?" Sophia whispered.

"I know what you mean. When I look at the stars, it's the only time I feel close to my mom. It's the only time as if I feel like I'm not alone."

Sophia looked at him with the same look from before when he mentioned his mom. She seemed to want to ask more, but instead she scooted closer to Jasper and sighed. For the first time in a long while, Jasper looked up to the stars and felt as if he wasn't alone.

* * *

_His mother sighed heavily, and said gravely, "You are on your own, Jasper. You are your sole protector. Trust no one. They will not come for you. None will step out of their way for your life unless it is for their own purposes. You cannot depend on anyone."_

_He absorbed her words in silence, shaken by the revelation. Abruptly, Liannette stepped away from him and he felt her magic gather around in a torrent of power, the flames leaping around them in a hurricane of fiery light as he heard his mother's incantations. The pressure within the circle of protection built up until he thought his head would explode, until the air was screaming around them and he felt as though he was being torn away, spiralling through darkness at the speed of sound._

_Suddenly he was falling, grasping helplessly at air but finding nothing to slow his descent. He instinctively curled into a ball to absorb the impact, and then there was blackness, the pained sensation of awakening, the dusty tendrils of ash tickling his face as he lifted his head. A circle of destruction surrounded him, coating the grass with smouldering embers, a wrecked car, and the cloying scent of burning metal and death._

_He swiped a hand across his grime covered face and turned around to find his mother._

_Only to discover that he was alone._


	5. Chapter 5: Happiness

**Author's Note: Bleh... weird chapter... wanted to update before leaving... sorry...**

* * *

She stood on the top of the skyscraper with her feet dangling over the edge. She wore a black shirt, skinny jeans, and boots. On her shirt was two red circles and a upside down triangle beneath them resembling the face of an owl. She blew a strand of her black hair off her face only for it to fall back down on her face. She narrowed her eyes, glaring at that strand of hair. She eventually pulled it back with a sigh.

She had one hand on a beige file filled with papers. She turned her head, making sure none of them were about to fly away. Though a few of the corners fluttered in the slight breeze, they were still for now. She breathed in deeply, trying to calm her thoughts. She heard the distinct pattern of footsteps that she had come to know over the past week. She didn't bother to turn around. She knew who he was.

"Do you have them,Tyto Alba?" came his voice. She turned around, smiling. He was quite tall and thin and wearing all black like her, except with a purple hoodie that had faded over several years of wear. His hair was white in the pale moonlight and his eyes almost colorless. She found him quite attractive as he caused her breathing to go shallow and her heart to race. However, she knew how to avoid distractions and handed him the file.

"Everything I could find on one Steven Hallens," she said, still smiling mischievously. "I know my policy is to ask no questions; I know how difficult the past can be, but why are you after him? Did he steal your girlfriend?"

He glared at her, and her smile disappeared. She turned back around to the city beneath her while he sighed behind her. Then walked over and sat down next to her, placing the file in his lap. He looked out with her at the city with its many lights. "He knows who killed my uncle."

"Ah, personal vendetta. Those are fun." Tyto Alba laughed remembering her own. "So who was your uncle?"

"I thought you didn't ask questions." The boy, Jack Frost as he introduced himself, leaned in closer, taunting her.

"You've aroused my curiosity," she said back leaning in even closer until their faces were all but a few inches away. She saw what was about to happen and quickly pulled away. The last thing she needed was for unwanted emotions about a boy to distract her. She saw Frost pull away as well, the darkness hiding his blushing cheeks. She wanted to say sorry, to apologize for putting him in that position, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. She stood up, leaving Frost on his own on the ledge. He continued to look out into the city lights.

"He saved me," Frost whispered, barely loud enough for Tyto Alba to hear. She turned her head, gazing at his silhouette.

"What?"

"When I was two, my mother left. My father took my brother and sister and me to the lab where he worked for a secret program. I think it was called Cadmus, or something like that. He experimented on us; he put us through hell. We lived there for fifteen years before my older brother, Will, escaped. He got my sister and I out, but lost his voice in the process. We left to our Uncle Rory's house where he took us here. That's who my uncle is. The one who saved me."

Tyto Alba wasn't sure what to think. She never expected the answer and knew that Frost must be knew if he was giving out his entire life story to her. It was her rule never to get attached to her employers, but she understood. She sat back down next to him and told him something she swore she would never tell anyone. "When I was nine, my mom died. My father raised me to be an assassin. So I kind of know what you mean when you say your father put you through hell. Fathers seem to be good at that."

He nodded, understanding her. Tyto Alba mentally chided herself for telling him a sob story about herself. It was true, but unimportant, and they would never see each other ever again. So why was she telling him? She got up, walked a few steps, and was about to climb down the fire escape when he stood up, calling out to her. She stopped despite her better instinct to keep walking. She slowly turned around as he stopped in front of her.

"I need your help finding him." His eyes were big and gleaming in the moonlight.

Tyto felt her throat close on her. She stood there, much longer than she needed to looking into those eyes. All she managed to say after a moment in a hoarse voice was, "Why can't you find someone else?"

"Because there is no one else I can trust."

Though the words were simple, they caused Tyto Alba to freeze and her heart to skip a beat. She looked into his eyes and saw something that she had forgotten humanity could feel though she often felt it deep inside of her. She swallowed, taking away the mental barriers she had put up in place for her sanity. She nodded, then began to walked away. She cursed under her breath for what she was doing, but still gestured to him to follow her anyways.

* * *

James was back at the small apartment that Tyto Alba had. There were greasy pots and pans all over the kitchen counters showing her cooking failures. Chinese takeout and pizza boxes were overflowing from the trash can. He stared at the pigsty and saw Tyto staring at him. He smiled sheepishly, before saying in disbelief, "You_ live_ here?"

"Ignore the mess; I don't usually have company." She said coldly before collapsing on the stained couch.

"You live _here_?" he repeated. He hated to sound like a broken record.

"Yes. I got a deal from the owner of the building. It's not fancy, but it's the closest thing I got to home, so leave it be. Oh, bathroom's around the corner."

Frost began to look around at the blank walls. He walked down the short hallway that Tyto had pointed out until he got there. He was distracted by the room across where the door was cracked open slightly. He pushed it open hesitantly, knowing that this could end poorly for him and/or his mission. But what he saw was not at all what he expected. There was no mess like the rest of the apartment. There were no maps of people on a hitlist. There was not even the typical look of a teenage girl room.

Instead, the walls were painted a light lilac color, but it was old. Older than Tyto Alba. There was nothing on the walls except the posters of the Justice League and a few well known sidekicks that had grown up. James instantly recognized Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and even a teenage Phoenix, though she was different than Sophia. And on the lampstand was a small journal with a necklace laid on top and a picture of a little girl with her mother. Against his better judgement and while he was trying to absorb the room, he peeked inside. The pages were filled with charcoal sketches. It landed on one page in particular that depicted mostly darkness though a few terrifying shapes and figures could be made out. In a corner in tiny print it said Training. He saw a short passage on the other side that was titled "Wrong." James shook his head, unable to be certain of what his senses were telling him.

"What are you doing?" came the cold voice behind him.

James spun around to see Tyto Alba standing in the doorway. Her arms were crossed, her face angry. However, he also saw pain in her eyes. He looked back down at the journal in his hands. Tyto came up to him, slapped him across the face, before taking the journal away. He stared at her while holding his stinging face. "I'm sorry."

"You have no right to be in here," she nearly shouted.

"I know. And for that, I am sorry. But I needed to know."

"To know what? Who I am so you can go report me back to my father? Did he hire you? Or did my aunt and uncle send you so that they can have their slave back?"

"No, no. Not at all. I just wanted to know who I was working with."

Tyto ripped off her mask to show two of the prettiest eyes that James had ever seen. They were a light brown that reminded him of the chestnuts at his uncle's house. She ripped out the band in her hair, releasing silky black hair that fell down her back. James felt his knees get weak. "Well, this is who I am. I am Tyto, the daughter of one of the most infamous assassins in the entire world. I was trained by him to be the perfect hunter. I was raised to be the obedient, quiet little assassin who knew how to get her hands dirty. My name is Julianna Ross, the most feared person you will ever know. Now get out of my apartment!"

* * *

Julianna watched as he left. He didn't even argue with her. He simply left. After the door closed, she closed her own bedroom door and collapsed, tears beginning to fall down her face. She looked at the journal in her own hands. She saw the passage he had opened up to. It was "Wrong." She looked at the words she had written.

_Wrong_

_I was wrong about him. I thought for some reason that if I could only only do as he said and do it right, then he could love me. Perhaps he could have loved me like Momma. But now I see the foolishness in that thought. Where Momma had love, he had hate. He hated me and only saw me as a tool for his own devices. He saw me and saw his legacy after he died. He never cared about me. He only cared about the next contract. Momma, if only you never got sick. Then I could still be with you. Maybe I can still be with you... No, I can't. You told me that that would be wrong._

_Like everything else I have ever done._

Those words blurred as her tears fell down. She looked at the picture on her lampstand and saw the happy little girl and her mother. She wished that she could go back to those days when everything was so simple. She wanted it more than anything and several times she had caught herself thinking about being with her mother once more, but every time, she pushed those thoughts away. Her mother would not want to see her again because of that. It was wrong.

She stood up and saw neat handwriting on the last page that was not her's. She looked at it. There was another letter, titled to her. She recognized it immediately as her mother's.

_Dearest Julianna,_

_Happy birthday! Today is your ninth birthday and perhaps the last one I will share with you. You have seen me getting weaker, but you have not seen how weak I really am. I am sorry that I will not be with you much longer, but I know that you have a fantastic life ahead you._

_You might be wondering why I am writing on the last page. You know from reading our mystery books together that I never could wait for the bad guy to be caught. So that is why I am writing on the last page. So you never have to wait for the ending. This is the ending._

_You will live your life to the fullest. You will see wonders that you can never imagine. You will do good for the world. You will always be my daughter, my little Julianna. And promise me. You will be happy._

_Love Mom._

_Julianna sighe_d and felt new tears filling in her eyes as the words sunk in. She stood up and walked out of her apartment. She saw Frost standing in the hallway looking lost and confused and as if he had shed a tear or two as well. Julianna knew that she must have looked like a mess with her puffy eyes, but she knew that he needed him. And besides, he made her happy in some small way.

"Alright, Jack. A couple of conditions if we are to work together. One, never go into my room. Ever. Two, we do this my way. You follow my lead and do what I tell you to. Understood?"

She felt herself smiling as he did as he realized that he was not on his own. He nodded eagerly, though reservedly. "Understood."

She nodded in approval. She picked out the cell phone in her pocket and began to dial the number of her one of her better friends. She looked back at Frost. "Calling in a favor," she explained. The other side picked up.

"Hello?" came the groggy voice. She sighed. Who knew what time zone he was in.

"Hey Leo. I need to ask you for that favor you owe me."

TO BE CONTINUED

* * *

**Author's Note: I ****_know_**** that this is a really short chapter and kind of strangely written (SORRY!), but the truth is, I am about to camps for the next two weeks and will only have during the weekend to write if I am not sleeping all of Saturday and Sunday. So I decided to upload what I have and continue this in a couple weeks. Eventually, this and Chapter 6 will be mushed into one chapter, but for now, two. See you all soon. And if you have any questions, just ask!**

**Oh, right. OCs and owners.**

**Julianna- NightHawks**

**And you all know James.**

**See you wonderful people soon!**


	6. Chapter 6: Blood's Thicker Than Water

Leo was sitting in the hospital room with his mom watching as she recovered. She had woken briefly after Maria had healed most of the damage of the gunshot wound, but she had been asleep since then. Maria said it would take time, that she could only do so much before the body had to heal the rest on its own. Leo still wanted his mom to wake up though. He needed to ask questions. Questions that the Justice League had asked he hadn't known the answer to.

He heard a noise from behind him and turned slightly. He had heard the footsteps often enough to know them by heart. It was the new Phoenix who was the one to always sit in the interrogations, who offered him a place on her team even though the League considered him a possible link to the infamous hell squad. She sat next to him in the same chair as she always did. She asked him the same question as always.

"How's your mom doing?" Her voice was kind and had a sincerity to it that Leo rarely heard nowadays. But he still knew that it was only a way to break the ice.

"Fine. Have you come to ask me more question?" His voice was much more hostile than he meant it to be, but the Phoenix didn't flinch. She must have been used to this by now.

"Have you given any other consideration to my offer?"

Leo laughed. Her offer to join her team of hero wannabes to do the jobs that the League is too busy to do. Her offer to be part of a bunch of teen sidekicks who thought they could take on the world. He wouldn't fit in even if he wanted to join. His powers were undeveloped. His mom hypothesized that he could do more, but he was content with what he could do. Besides, why would he want to hide part of who he was in order to save the world. He knew that his mom had announced his powers to the world, but that was an accident. He had only done the first thing that popped into his head. He had no intention though if becoming a hero or a sidekick or whatever he would be. He was about to tell her how ridiculous the thought of him being on her team would be when his phone rang, blasting the Firefly theme.

"Hello?" he answered, his voice confused by who would calling. It came out tired though. he looked at his watch. He sighed. He had been sitting in that waiting room for at least eleven hours according to his watch and probably longer since he remembered several meals coming in..

"Hey, Leo. I need to ask you for that favor you owe me," came a voice that Leo had long forgotten and had thought he would never hear again. It was his cousin, Julianna.

"Jules? Where are you? What's up? What do you need?" Questions flew out of his mouth, all the while, the Phoenix listened in. He knew he should leave; Jules wouldn't want him to have others nearby, but he couldn't leave his mom either.

"Meet me by the fountain at the park we used to play at. I'll explain there."

"Jules, wait! My mom-" The phone line went dead before he could say anything else. Leo looked at the Phoenix who looked concerned. She cocked her head, waiting for an answer. Leo sighed. "Someone needs my help. I need to go."

He stood up and began to leave only to have the Phoenix follow him. He stopped and glared at her, expecting an answer. She responded, "Until your mom wakes up, the League needs to keep an eye on you on some way or form. I'm coming with you and the team will most come too."

Though the thought of having the Phoenix with him made him a little dizzy, he knew what was at stake. "I can't. If I come with all of you guys, then she'll won't talk to me."

"We can blend in, dress ourselves as tourists."

"At one in the morning?" Leo wondered how she had become Phoenix in the first place.

"The Perseids are tonight. It will be fantastic viewing at a park. Besides, Jasper already made me promise that we stay up and see them. A few more people won't hurt. Besides, if anything happens, we'll be right there to help you."

Leo nearly choked hearing Jasper's name. Damn, that boy had won the Phoenix's heart even if she didn't know it yet. Talk about a hopeless romantic, going stargazing. He tried to maintain his cool though and not laugh as he heard the Phoenix mention that their little "date" would not be just the two of them. Leo nodded. So long as Jules didn't know they were there, it would be alright. He just hoped that she was alright and hadn't done anything stupid.

* * *

Leo watched as the team took up their positions at the park. It was weird, seeing them dressed normal. When he first met them, they were looking their best. Now, none of the girls wore makeup and Jasper was the only guy. A pinch of jealousy flared in Leo's chest, but he knew that that was petty. Besides, Julianna needed him and he wasn't going to let her down. Not after he had done so last time.

He sat down on the freezing cold stone of the fountain. It had turn off for the night but the stars and the crescent moon still shone in the crystal waters. He smiled. He could remember thousands of time he and Julianna had visited and snuck out of the house to see the full moon glittering on those waters. It was where they had their deepest secrets and darkest desires. Leo shut his eyes. Leo had never really known his uncle, but he had hoped that Jules hadn't followed in her father's footsteps.

He heard footsteps and opened his eyes. It was Julianna. And a boy. Leo felt his protective nature as Jules' older cousin step in. Immediately, he flashed his eyes from the boy to her. Had Jules really gotten herself pregnant? Leo took back what he thought before. He would have much rather Jules become an assassin than a teen mom.

"No, it's not like that, Leo. He's just a client," she sputtered out immediately as she understood his looks. He was not consoled.

"A_ client_?" Leo looked at the boy. He was tall, perhaps his own age, with piercing white hair, especially in the moonlight. His skin was pale to the point of being translucent. Leo didn't like him. He glanced around. There were maybe fifty people total in the park, all here to watch the meteor shower, including the team.

"Leo, I am _not_ a prostitute or anything like that. My business is as an information broker and bounty hunter." Leo felt the blood rise into his cheeks. Jules always had said that he jumped to conclusions too easily. "I was finding information on someone for him. He wants my help finding the guy for revenge. I was wondering if we could use you and your powers when we get him. We both know how useful your powers could be if things go south."

Leo leaned back, his fingers in the water. He pushed his hand through his hair, trying to absorb what Julianna was asking him. He looked around at the park again. He observed someone stand up and begin to walk this way. Jules saw who he was looking at, but brushed it off. Whoever it was would pass on by and ignore whatever was going on. But as the person came closer, Leo saw it was a teenage girl. It was Alice, he thought. He narrowed his eyes. Julianna stood up, seeing the signs and knowing to get out ASAP. The boy turned as well. Though Leo thought it impossible, he got whiter. Alice walked up, with a look of hurt and betrayal. She began to shout.

"James! What are you doing here? Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!" She looked at James and it was only then that Leo saw the resemblance between the two. He guess they were brother and sister.

"What do you think I'm doing, Alice? I'm finding the man who killed Rory!" James shouted back. "Where's that little team of yours? Still playing hero?"

Red flags went off on Julianna's face and the group of people who started to make their way to the fountain only confirmed what she already thought. Leo grabbed her wrist though. "We are not getting separated again. I won't let that happen. Not after last time."

"We aren't playing heroes! We are working side by side with the League!" Alice stated. The shouting had drawn the attention of others who were watching the argument. The rest of the team came over and protected themselves from view.

"Alice, watch what you're saying!" Sophia whispered in a harsh tone, her voice clearly showing her as on edge. "We don't want anyone to know who we are."

"Because no one knows who you are, Sophia Rivers," Julianna said sarcastically. Leo glanced at his cousin. There was a definite story there.

"Excuse me?"

"You're Sophia, Steven's ex-girlfriend. You guys went out shortly after he nearly lost his life due to a terrorist attack on your school. You guys were happy until you broke it off suddenly a couple months after becoming an official couple. You are part of the reason he joined the Hell Squad." Julianna said this last part with particular pleasure. Leo winced at the hostility in her voice even though he knew that it was simply Jules lashing out because Leo had betrayed her.

"I know," Sophia whispered. Her eyes began to fill with tears, though she blinked them away. Leo saw Jasper move towards her and look at her curiously.

"So you do know about his career choice. Well, guess what? Steven killed the Frost's uncle and now he wants revenge. Get used to the idea." Leo wished that Julianna would stop.

"Steven didn't kill James' and Alice's uncle. A rogue agent of the Hell Squad did. Steven has information leading to him. And if James thinks that revenge on one agent is enough, then he's wrong. After he finds whoever it was that killed his uncle, he will find someone else of the Hell Squad to kill. Then, he will become just another vigilante killer, no better than the Hell Squad himself."

"Yeah, right. How do you know?" James shouted.

"Because it happened to Steven. And now he is a full fledged member of the Hell Squad and under direct tutelage of Nolan himself. I'm not saying that James will go that far, but you never know. Leo, my offer stands, but if you join her and James, it's off the table. And trust me on this. You don't want to get involved in the Hell Squad this way. Especially with so much at stake." Sophia turned away from Julianna and James, a bad move on Sophia's part, and looked at him. Leo stared. Was Sophia actually threatening his mom? He looked back and forth, from his only cousin, to the Phoenix. Leo had to admit, he had a certain respect for the Phoenix, but any feelings he had for her at the convention were gone now.

He was about to give his answer when James blew into his hands, presumably to keep his hands warm. However, when he released his hands, a blade of ice, no more than three inches long was there. He grabbed Sophia and stabbed her in the back, whispered, "You have no idea who I am or what I'm capable of. Come on, Tyto Alba. Let's go." He turned and ran as Sophia crumpled to the ground. Jules looked at Leo who shook his head. Though he had been leaning towards his cousin, the thought of being with that madman deterred him. She ran as Jasper ordered Iris and Natasha to go after him. Leo stared at the bleeding Sophia who lay in Jasper's arms, with one thought racing through his head.

He had caused this.

* * *

Back at the mountain, Leo went back to the room his mom was resting in while he waited for news on Sophia. The doctors had said that the blade had cut through her kidney and now doctors were working alongside Maria in an operation room trying to fix the problem. They said that because of who Sophia was, there was a good chance of her surviving though their main concern was infection. Leo hoped she wouldn't die. He wasn't sure he could have lived with it.

He heard footsteps and at first thought they were Sophia's. He stood up quickly, apology ready on his tongue when he turned around and saw it Jasper. His eyes were dark, a feature that had struck Leo only mildly when they first met. But as those dark eyes bored into Leo venomously, they became devilish and he knew they would give him nightmares for days.

"Jasper, I'm-"

"Don't even start. The fact that you are apologizing just proves that you know you're guilty."

"Jasper-"

"Sophia trusted you, more than she should have. She said that helping you would help you gain your trust. She was the one who asked you questions so she knew best. Now it's my turn to ask the questions."

"Alright." Leo couldn't hide the sweat that was beginning to form on his brow. He hoped that his answers were sufficient.

"Why didn't you say yes?"

"Excuse me?"

"When Sophia first asked you to join the team, anyone would have leaped at the opportunity. You put off the answer. Why? Why didn't you answer the questions she asked about your mom working with the Hell Squad? Why did you allow to accompany you to your meeting? Why did you let her get stabbed?"

Jasper was shouting by the last question. Leo wished he could have answered, but all of his answers would have contradicted themselves. He saw Jasper hurting for an answer and saw how deep his feelings for Sophia really were. Leo suddenly felt very shallow. He saw Julianna running away with the boy and he could have done something, anything. Jasper continued.

"Iris and Natasha couldn't find him. By the time they caught up, he vanished into a hacked zetatube." The implication that Leo hacked the zeta was blunt. Leo felt his cheeks burn. He could have done it and both knew it, but only Leo knew that he didn't.

"My mom is here. Blood runs thicker than water," Leo said, his voice strong.

"I know better than anyone that blood runs thicker than water. But Julianna is your blood too."

Jasper left the room.

Leo stood there, a million feelings running through his heart without any explanation for them. He had always maintained an outer cooler shell, only breaking after his mom had been shot. Now, his head spun with thoughts and ideas that weren't his. He saw Julianna again. Even though she had broken away from her father, she was still no angel, choosing James over him. He sat down and picked up his phone and dialed the first number on his contact list.

"Hey, Jules? Meet me back at the fountain. I'm coming with you."

* * *

**Author's Note: You know how you start with something, then it turns into something completely different? That's kind of what happened. I don't know where having James stab Sophia came from, but it happened. As well as Leo leaving. That wasn't supposed to happen for a while longer. **

**Anyways... you guys should probably thank Night Hawks for the chapters of this story. Seriously, only reason I keep updating without months passing by. No new characters introduced, but as this is Chapter 5 continued, I didn't expect any.**

**OH! Chapter 7! I will need songs to describe characters. If you don't mind, could you give me a song to fit Sophia, Jasper, Alice, Natasha, Iris, Damian, IrisxDamian, and SophiaxJasper? And maybe a song for the team as a whole? You'll see what I'm up too next chapter.**

**OH! And also, if you have a OC in here already, PM about how you think I'm doing writing them. Occasionally, some things get twisted around and I want to make sure I am doing them justice! So yeah. Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Music Leads to the Soul

Iris was running as fast as she could through the mountain to find the training room. She had to get there on time. Her mother had organized the training schedule and today, she was having a one on one with Damian. She hoped her mother hadn't figured out her crush on the Boy Wonder, but knowing Artemis, she had and that was the reason that that it would be just the two of them. Well, the two of them plus their mentors. Oh gosh, she couldn't be late!

Iris skidded through the doorway only to trip over her own feet and collide into her father. Her eyes widened. Though the Flash was technically her mentor, she thought he would be with her twin brother Jai, talking about football or some other guy thing that she was never a part of. She figured that her mother would be the one supervising the exercise since she the the team trainer. She blew her bangs out of her face. She should have known better.

"Kid Flash, I'm glad you could make it," Batman said.

Iris laughed. "Can't you just call me Iris, Uncle Dick? Seriously, it's not like we're on a mission or anything."

Batman's eyes narrowed and he took off his cowl showing his vibrant dark blue eyes. he sighed. "Fine, Iris. Robin, do you want this to be informal as well?"

Damian shrugged. Iris tried not to stare, especially at his thick prominent jawbone which seriously melted her. Or his gray eyes that seemed to understand everything that was going on. Iris couldn't deny that he was dreamy even to woman though Damian was only fifteen. His only flaw was how he was constantly calling everyone names and insulting most of anyone else, but that was something even Iris overlooked. She thought he had turned out pretty well considering that he was raised by the Shadows for most of his childhood.

"Since this is informal, does that mean we have to wear our uniforms?" Damian asked. Iris briefly had an image of his stripping right then and there. She shook her head quickly to drive that image away. _Stay focused,_ _Irey. You don't need to faint right now._

"Not for this particular exercise. Do you not like your uniform, Damian?" Batman asked.

"I practice better without it," he said cooly. To anyone else, this would have been nothing short of rude, but because it was his mentor who knew him well enough, it was normal. Iris though wondered if her suit was made of something different than Damian's because her's was the most comfortable thing on the planet. She even slept in it during her first night as Kid Flash so she would "be prepared," something her father had teased her about for a long time.

"Alright, Damian. Go change, then come right back" Batman stood next to the Flash. As soon as Damian was out of earshot, the two began to laugh quietly, as if they could not control themselves.

"You were right. 'I practice better without it.'" Flash imitated in Damian's voice. "He's got it bad." Iris began to wonder what Damian had. It was humorous to her father and Uncle Dick, but did that mean it wasn't serious? Was Damian sick?

"I told you!" Dick whispered; he was trying to make sure that Damian wouldn't hear. "I have never seen anyone who had worse than him."

Iris began to get really nervous. What was wrong with Damian? Batman shushed Flash as Damian returned back to the room wearing sweats and no t-shirt. Iris was at first fluttered, her heart beating fast as she noticed how trim and fit his body was. As he came nearer and her heart nearly stopped, she also noticed how his body looked silvery. Then, she realized they were scars.

There were hundreds if not thousands of them. All across his body and especially on his back, silver lines crisscrossed to one silvery mass. It was like a second skin, as his face was virtually untouched. Iris couldn't help now but stare. She remembered how he was raised by the Shadows. But surely they couldn't have caused all of this. Could they?

Before Iris thought, the words were out of her mouth. "What happened to you?"

Damian froze, unsure of what to do, though anger was starting to show on his face. Iris realized what she had said and tried to backtrack. "I mean, you couldn't have gotten all of those from the Shadows. Like, I know they're evil, but they're not that evil, right? I mean some have had to have come from some-"

She was silenced as Damian hit her across the face, knocking her to the ground. "You have no idea what the Shadows put me through, nor the complexities of my life, you simple-minded girl!"

"Damian! That was uncalled for!" Batman shouted while trying to hold his best friend back from attacking the boy. But nothing reached Iris' ears. All she could focus on was his face, betrayal and hurt written all over hers. She saw something akin to remorse on his face, but she shook her head. As tears began to fall down her cheeks, she flashed out of the room.

She would run as far as she could to get away from him. She was a fool for thinking that he could ever feel anything towards her. As she disappeared out of the mountain, she remembered the not al Ghul had given her. He could never even like you, let alone love you. Now those words were painfully true as she ran off to hide from everyone else, including herself.

* * *

Alice walked through Shining Falls as the heavy rain poured down. A day had passed since Sophia had been stabbed and she lay in a coma. Alice knew that James had stabbed her, but she still felt guilty. She should have known James better than that. He was her twin. Her brother.

Alice walked through the city until she came to the apartment her older brother, William lived. He had taken the apartment where the small family had planned on living together with the League paying for it as she asked. She rarely came here, and she doubted that James even knew about it. She hoped Will was home.

She took out a key and unlocked the door. Her brother would be surprised that she had come, but he had been texting her since their uncle died to come and visit. She had sent off a quick text to him, but had no idea if he had gotten it or not as he hadn't responded. She walked through the door to where her messy brother lived. Everywhere, there was clothes, boxes, and papers. She smiled slightly. She had offered to help him unpack, but her brother had insisted that he would do it on his own.

She saw her brother who had come walking down the hall. He stopped when he saw her and, quickly, his hands said,_ 'What are you doing here?'_

_'I sent a text,'_ Alice signed back to him.

_'Really?'_ Will checked his phone and laughed when he saw the text. He looked back at his little sister._ 'It took you awhile to come and visit me. What's up with this new school? I know it's boarding, but you seriously can't spare any time to come and visit? And why isn't James with you?'_

Alice took a deep breath. Her brother didn't know about her and James. She had told him that she and James were attending a boarding school on a full scholarship. Will had no idea that she was on a cover team working the Justice League of all things. He didn't know that James had all but gone crazy on revenge. And now she had to tell him. She didn't care how close she and James were. After last night, watching him hurt Sophia so easily and painlessly, it was like watching the scientists once more. It was like he had become one of them. She had to tell Will.

_'What's wrong, Alice?'_ Those hands asked rapidly. Alice almost lost her nerve, but her brother had seen the worry on her face and Alice couldn't keep it away from him any longer. She began to sign to her brother everything that had happened since Rory died. Will didn't interrupt once, only watching her hands patiently and at times, he couldn't hide the shock off of his face. Alice's hands faltered when she came to what had happened last night. Will asked her to keep on going, so she did. She told him how she had lost her brother and wasn't sure if he could get them back.

After she was done, Will just leaned back into the couch, absorbing everything. Alice wanted him to say something but knew he would take his time. She also knew he was trying to face the fact that their brother was turning into one of them. Heartless, cruel, and oblivious to pain. Alice wasn't sure what had happened to make James do what he did. But it couldn't have been good. He had to have some reason other than he thought she was the enemy.

Will signed something, but Alice missed it. She had to ask him to sign again and he said, _'Do you remember how much mom loved the rain?'_

_'What?'_

_'You were probably too little, but Mom used to love the rain. Every rainy day, she dance outside. I was always too scared; Dad said the rain made you sick. And every time she danced in the rain, James would too. It looked like they were attending a ball, they were so serious sometimes. Mom also said that the rain washes away our sins and clears our thoughts. James has always had a better memory than you or I, so he probably remembers Mom saying this. I bet you right now, wherever he is, he realizes what he did and is beating himself up about it. He acted in a moment of rage and pain, as I did when I killed the scientists.'_

_'I thought you didn't remember that.'_

_'Bits and pieces. Mostly blood. And a lot from what James told me. You see, he remembers all of that. So I bet you that right now, he is driving himself insane over the revelation of what he's done. Just wait and see. James will come back to us. He will have a long and hard road ahead of him, but as surely as the rain frees us from our demons, he will come back to us.'_

_'How can you be so certain?'_

_'Because he is our brother. He is not bad, though he might think he is right now. He is like us. He knows what is right and wrong, even if he does get a little lost along the way. Don't worry, Alice. James will come back to us. Just you wait and see.'_

_Alice smiled, feeling a little better by her brother's comforting words when he suddenly got up_ and ran down the hall with an eager expression on his face. When he came back, both of his hands were behind his back. Alice looked at him and signed quickly, _'What are you hiding?'_

Will tossed Alice a stuffed animal which she caught with ease. She looked at it more carefully before realizing that it was the stuffed cat her uncle had sewn her before they got to America. Alice smiled softly. She held it close, a tear falling down her face. She smiled, then quickly signed,_ 'I have to go. Sophia is injured badly.'_

_'Can I come? This Sophia sounds interesting.'_ Her brother asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Alice just laughed.

_'Get your own girl to oogle over!'_ Alice smiled before walking towards the door._ 'Seriously, you're 19! I'm fairly certain that that is against the law!'_

_'Only if there is a sexual relations!'_

Alice just stared at her older brother and laughed. She knew that he would never do anything, but it was funny how he sometimes would pretend to be a complete creep. And he was good at it too which sometimes gave her a little concern, but she never worried about it. her brother was just trying to make her smile.

As she shut the door behind her, Alice knew she had done the right thing. It was hard, but Will had given her more advice and more safety in those words than anyone ever had, except perhaps James. And as the rain poured down upon her, soaking her in seconds, Alice let out a small smile. She knew that her life would never be normal. She knew that since her father kidnapped her and her powers developed. But that was okay. As a small tear fell down her face for James, she smiled even more as Will had told her what she had really needed to hear. That James would come back.

As Alice stood in the rain and the tears were freely flowing as she walked all the way back to the mountain, she realized her mother was right. She had never had much respect for her mother as she left when Alice was two, but her mother was right now. Standing in the rain did cleanse you and clear your thoughts.

* * *

_Sophia looked in the mirror at a younger version of herself. It was the first day of school. For her, anyways. For everyone else, it was the beginning of the second semester for many of the kids. She sighed. She hated making new friends._

_*Flash*_

_Arriving at school was no better. Her family had driven over six hours to get her there to arrive on the first day of the semester, but it meant she would arrive during the middle of fourth period if Sophia had looked up the correct schedule. She would have to walk into class alone._

_*Flash*_

_She walked through the door of the chemistry room where her fourth period class lay. As the teacher stopped teaching, as all the students stopped and stared at her, Sophia knew she would rather be anywhere else than here. She would even rather be doing all that ridiculous training her parents made her do day and night instead of this. She prayed that this would be over soon._

_*Flash*_

_She handed the note from the office to the teacher who smiled warmly. He told her to take a seat next to a Steven Hallens off to the side. She sighed and took her seat. She was surprised when he smiled warmly at her. He had a light chestnut with warm brown eyes that told her everything was going to be alright. And for some reason that she would never be able to explain, she trusted him fully and completely._

_*Flash*_

_The bell rang and Sophia smiled. The class hadn't been bad and Steven had even let her borrow his notes to get caught up on the subject. She had known all of this chemistry because her dad worked with every science and was always building armor for the Justice League. He hadn't been able to hide the fact after she caught him remodeling a Robin uniform when she was six._

_"Hey, Sophia, where are you going?" Steven's voice called out to her._

_"I don't know."_

_"Come have lunch with me then. All of my friends are still on vacation. I could use the company." He smiled again. Sophia couldn't say no._

_*Flash*_

_A couple weeks later... Sophia had figured out that Steven had no friends, though he always had an excuse as to why they weren't there. It didn't matter. She hadn't bothered to make any of her own since she'd met Steven who seemed to be all she needed._

_Slowly, Sophia realized that she was beginning to fall for him and his cute dorkiness. She would always let him help her because he seemed to enjoy teaching her. One day, after the bell rang and their chemistry class was over, Steven seemed to have something he wanted to say. He was biting his lip in that way Sophia had identified as his nervousness._

_"What is it, Steven?" she asked._

_"Sophia... I was wondering... Well, I've been wondering... since the first day we met actually... wow, that sounds weird... um, Sophia, I need to ask..."_

_"What is is, Steven? You can ask me anything."_

_He took a deep breath. "Sophia, can I take you out on a date this tonight? I know it's short notice, but since you've came, Sophia, my life has been a little bit more bearable. I've never told anyone this, but at home, my dad isn't around much. And when he is, he's usually drunk. My mom left a couple years ago, so it's been a lot worse since then, but-"_

_Sophia knew why she trusted him. She smiled and did something she had never done before. She didn't even know what she was doing until her lips touched his slightly. Steven immediately stopped talking and closed his eyes. It was a light kiss, both their first time, so when Sophia pulled away, Steven just began to stammer on his last word._

_The teacher began to clap loudly. He was smiling evilly. "Do you guys know how long I've been waiting for that to happen? Seriously, Steven. I place a girl right next to you, and it takes you over a month to ask her out? You are even thicker than I thought. You might be a genius, Steven, but when it comes to girls, you are as dumb as a brick! I mean, come on-"_

_*Flash*_

_About another month after they had been dating, terrorists had bombed the school. It was all over the national news because the Hell Squad, who had begin to rear their ugly head once more after laying low for over a decade, had no reason to attack the school. It was not large, only a couple hundred students attended, and even after the police and FBI and CIA and everyone else had investigated thoroughly, they found no reason for the Hells Squad to attack, short of it was a whim._

_Steven was badly injured. Perhaps the worse of everyone else. He was in a coma for over a week. Sophia, who had been sitting right next to him was miraculously unharmed. No one had good explanation except that Steven's body had protected her from the blast. It was during this time, during a particular fit of rage that she discovered her powers. The her parents told her everything. How her mother was the original Phoenix and Sophia had inherited her powers._

_*Flash*_

_As The Phoenix reborn, Sophia took up Shining Falls as her city. Steven eventually recovered, but he was changed. It was more of he was quieter and didn't open up as much. Sophia had pushed this off as PTSD or something like that. However, during one of her patrols, a new villain had come up, one calling himself Malice. The Phoenix was chasing him, hoping to take him off to jail._

_He had her pinned to a wall and he was pissed off. Not the pet peeve pissed off, but the, I'm going to kill you pissed off. He held her by her neck against the brick wall and was glaring at her. No matter how much she struggled, her wouldn't let go. He stared at her._

_"You know, there have been rumors on who the new Phoenix is." He ripped her mask off. She screamed as if she was in physical pain. Her mask was off. Now Malice saw who she truly was._

_And he let her go._

_He dropped her, something like pain in those dark eyes. When the Phoenix asked why, he simply took off his own mask, to reveal the boy she had started to fall in love with. She was shattered, seeing Steven as Malice. He told her to go, but she said not without an answer. He ignored her as he simply left._

* * *

Jasper hit the punching bag as hard as he could, putting all of his strength and pain into those punches. Skillet's _Awake and Alive_ was blasting over the speakers in the gym, deafening Jasper to the world. He imagined Leo's face and pulverized it. He wanted the kid dead. It didn't matter what anyone else thought of the situation. Jasper wanted him dead. He hurt Sophia.

Jasper threw one final punch before collapsing to the ground. His breathing was ragged as if he had run a marathon which he very might have trying to take his mind off of Sophia. He didn't want to think of the possibility of her never waking up again. That wasn't an option. She would wake up. She had to.

Jasper let his hands run through his hair. He was covered in sweat. He smiled thankfully for that. No one would be able to tell the tears that he had shed after someone, probably Natasha, had told him that Sophia was in a coma and no one knew her fate. Jasper knew that Maria had tried to help her, but according to her, comas were different. There was no actual physical damage that she could heal. Sophia would have to wake up on her own.

He hadn't gone and seen Sophia. That would only mean that he was as crazy about her as Andromeda. Jasper swore under his breath. Even though that she was lifetimes ago, the pain of losing her was still fresh and sharp. He had told himself thousands, no, billions of times that it wasn't his fault. She had told him to go on with the mission. And he had. But she had died.

Jasper gritted his teeth. He stood back up. He wouldn't let himself get beaten down by Andromeda's fate. He was living a new life and all that mattered was Sophia. Jasper smiled in spite of himself.

Sophia had changed him. She had shown him something more in this world. It was different that the others he had lived on. He began to hit the punching bag with even more ferocity. As the song repeated itself on endless loop, Jasper finally understood the song. Jasper had never been sure if there was God or not or some other higher power, but if Jasper believed in one thing, it was Sophia. He knew she would wake up. He was finally awake and alive.

After the bag finally broke on him, he tossed it with the others in a corner and left the room. He walked as far as he had to in order to reach the room where Sophia was laying. He winced as he saw her, so helpless in that hospital bed. He grinned. Sophia was anything but helpless. His grin though soon vanished as her face contorted into pain. He saw a tear fall down her cheek. He walked through the door and he finally noticed her mother sitting there. She turns her head and Jasper feels his cheeks blush red. He knew the ferocity of Sophia was all from this woman. He saw how he must have looked to her at that moment. Wearing worn jeans with holes and a black muscle shirt with black fingerless gloves and sweat literally dripping off of him. He felt extremely sheepish and out of place.

"How's she doing?" he asked, trying to push aside his awkwardness around Sophia's mom.

"Same. The surgery went fine and there isn't any sign of infection. The coma she's in though is giving everyone great concern. She shouldn't be in one. They wouldn't allow it."

Jasper felt extremely confused. "What do you mean, 'she shouldn't be in one?' And who's they?"

Sophia's mom smiled. "Sorry, Sophia has inherited her powers from me. And our powers aren't our own. In fact, our only talent it telepathy and even that is because of them. You see, Sophia and I have an alien parasite inside of us that give us our powers. Actually, there are millions of the little buggers. They are the real ones who manipulate the fire you see us create. They can sense the individual atoms surrounding us and cause a chemical combustion that they then manipulate and feed. So what you see as a simple flame," A small flame flickering like a candle popped up in her hand, "is really just the parasites controlling a chemical reaction. That's why we are telepathic on a certain level. We communicate to the parasites who in turn do what we ask."

"And why wouldn't they allow Sophia to be in a...?"

"They wouldn't let her be in a coma. They are designed to heal her body and all that was wrong was a ruptured kidney. Anesthesia doesn't work on me or my daughter, so none was used. There is no reason why Sophia is in a coma except because she wants to be which also doesn't make any sense."

Jasper stood there, absorbing this information. What reason did Sophia have to be in a coma? Though nothing came to mind, a small fear that he was the reason crushed his heart. He ignored it, pushed it away. He saw how concerned Sophia's mom was. And how tired she was. There were heavy bags under her eyes and she looked like she hadn't slept since Sophia went into surgery. Jasper placed a hand on her shoulder. "You should go get some sleep. I will watch over her and come get you if anything happens."

The original Phoenix looked long and hard as Jasper. He did his best to meet her gaze, but eventually dropped his eyes. And he thought the Bat Glare was hard to face. The Phoenix made the Bat Clan look fun and cuddly compared to the hell Jasper was certain she could put one through. She eventually nodded though and left the room. Jasper was alone with Sophia.

Though unsure of where to start, Jasper knew he had to get one thing off of his chest. "Hey, Sophia. I'm sorry I haven't come in sooner. I was trying to figure some things out." Jasper began to pace around the room. He laughed. "You know how you made me join this team of yours? You challenged and fought me. You know how you got the upperhand?" Jasper couldn't keep the smile off of his face. "You kissed me. In all my years of fighting, no one could ever touch me, let get close enough to kiss me. But you know what else? Since then, that kiss keeps on coming back into my dreams every time I fall asleep. Every time I look at you, it pops into my head.

"For days, I was trying to figure out what it meant. And the truth is... the truth is that it hurts when I realize that it probably meant nothing."

Jasper stopped pacing and sat down next to Sophia. "When I saw you get hurt, it hurt me more that thinking that that kiss might mean nothing. I saw you fall and I felt my heart fall apart. I lost sight of what was happening. When I heard you were in this coma, I lost my mind. I went to the gym, blasted music, and wore myself down to nothing. I tried to forget the pain I was feeling, to forget what my heart was telling me. I tried to forget you. Because whenever I get close to someone, they get hurt. I always have to leave before I can show them how much I care about them. And I know it hurts them more than me, because to them, I just vanish. And I didn't want to get close to you, because I knew that I would disappear before anything could happen.

"But you showed me different. When we were looking up at the stars on the mountain a couple days ago, I felt as if I would never leave. As if I would be allowed to stay with you forever. As if you would never allow me to go. Sophia, I-" Jasper felt his voice crack and the familiar wetness of tears. He brushed a strand of her crazy red hair away. Why was it so hard to say what he was feeling in his heart. Why was it so hard to admit what he was feeling. Was it because he hadn't said or even acknowledged his feelings in so long?

"Sophia, when I was trying to forget you, I couldn't. Everything about you kept on swirling through my mind. That kiss even if it meant nothing. Your golden eyes that remind me of sunshine. The way you always smell of apples and campfire after a shower. How you always believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. Sophia, I realized that I care for you. That I have feelings for you. That... that I need you Sophia."

"Jasper?" Jasper opened his eyes which had closed. He looked at Sophia whose eyes were fluttering open. She looked over to him, confusion in her golden eyes. She grabbed his hand and held it tightly, nearly breaking his hand. Jasper tried not to wince as Sophia closed her eyes again for a moment. "Jasper, don't leave me."

* * *

Natasha was enjoying her time on the team so far. Everyone had been nice to her and they all had tried to make her feel at home. And it was nice to see Iris again. The two had never really spoken until about a year ago, but it was still fantastic to know someone her own age, especially when the rest of the team was at least two years older than her.

Natasha was fiddling with her hair in her room while humming_ This Little Girl_ by Cady Groves. She had only heard the song a few days ago, and since then, the song had been stuck in her head. No matter how hard she tried, it was there when she woke up and when she fell asleep. She didn't think it was too bad. She always skipped over one cuss word.

Natasha had never had a real relationship. A few crushes to be certain, but nothing more. However, she always knew that if a boy had cheated on her, she would kill him. She could certainly get away with it, she thought. She was wondering though if she would ever date a real idiot who would do that, but was unsure when Iris came running in, full speed, and slammed the door. Iris collapsed on Natasha's bed and began sobbing.

Nat ran over to her best friend. "Iris, what happened?" No response. "Come one, Irey. I can't help you unless you tell me what happened." Iris still refused to say anything. "Was it Damian?" Natasha guessed.

Iris cried even harder. Natasha rubbed her friend's shoulders until the crying had at least lessened into a bawl. Nat sang a lullaby quietly, letting her voice fill the room, trying to comfort her friend. She knew Iris would only speak when she wanted to, so Nat waited. After over an hour with no interruptions, eventually, Iris's crying began to soften until she came up for air. Her face was tear stained. Her eyes were red and puffy. Strands of red hair stuck to her wet face. She crumpled onto her best friend.

"We were training, the two of us. Dad and Bats was there. He changed into sweats and came out with no shirt. He had a lot of scars on his body. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. SO I asked him about it. And then he hit me."

"You were in training," Nat said. She knew Iris was dramatic. Maybe she was overreacting?

"No, I mean he pushed me down and called me a simple girl. He said I had no idea who he really was." Iris began to cry again, only more softly. Nat wasn't sure what to do; frankly, she was surprised that Iris still had tears to shed. But as she cooed softly to her friend and thought about Damian, only one solution came to mind.

Damian was a stuck up brat who had no idea who he was dealing with. He thought he was the best and had no weaknesses. He believe he was all high and mighty. Nat just smiled devilishly. He would never see it coming.

Damian had hurt her best friend. Even if he had no idea how much, it was still out of line. Nat heard a few people outside calling for Iris, but she ignored them. Apparently it never came across their minds to check in Iri's best friend's room! Nat shook her head. The League was awesome, but sometimes it seemed that as soon as heroes became full members, they kind of forgot that they still had something to prove.

"Nat, what are you thinking? You're kind of creeping me out." Iris sat up, finally noticing the slightly maniacal grin on her friend's face. Nat just smiled even more.

"_'This little girl is capable of murder, cause you hurt her,'_" Natasha sang the last line of the song to her friend as loudly as she could. Iris' tears stopped and she just stared.

"Um, Nat. Killing Damian isn't exactly what I was thinking of. Maybe just extreme humiliation? Like dying his hair bright pink? Or even his skin blue? Come on, what do you think of that, Nat?"

Natasha grabbed her bag which only she knew the contents. She saw Iris' eyes go wide. Nat skipped towards the door. She smiled back to Iris. "Now, now, Irey. Where's the fun in that?"

No, Damian would never see it coming.

* * *

Iris was scared of what her friend was going to do. She ran away from her friend's room outside of the mountain to clear her head. When she was young, running with her father would always help her and clear her head. It was raining outside, really heavy too, but it was refreshing to Iris. Right now, she just needed to run. She needed to hope that Nat wouldn't kill Damian.

Iris reached the top of the mountain within a minute. She screamed at the top of her lungs, releasing all of her pain in that moment. She kicked a rock, only to screech again, this time in pain. Except for the fact that her toes were probably broken, she felt better. She collapsed, her breath heavy. She hadn't ran far, but she was still shaking from crying. She hoped that no one would think her weak for crying. She thought about what her dad would have done. Her dad would have hit the kid straight back and a sparring match would have commenced. Iris thought that he might of after she left, but she wasn't sure. Everything was a blur. Iris sighed.

She would never fit her dad's expectations. It was her nature. She wanted to please, not to disappoint. When she found out she had powers, she thought she would spend as much time as possible with her father being Kid Flash. But the opposite happened. She rarely went out because he hadn't wanted her to get hurt. It didn't matter that she was faster than he was or that she had her mom's level head and actually thought about what to do next rather that just running into something head first like her dad.

Even though her brother was an archer, he still hung out with their father more than her. They were always playing catch or watching the big game or talking about Jai's latest romantic interest. There never seemed to be enough for her. Her mother had always noticed and they often did things together, but it wasn't the same. Sometimes... Sometimes, Iris just wanted to run around with her dad like old times.

She looked up at the cloudy skies that still poured down. The outskirts of Shining Falls were next to the mountain and their lights began to turn off, except for the street posts. The clocktower struck eleven and the tower rang out. Iris smiled. It had taken her forever to get used to that clocktower, but tonight, it comforted her. It sounded just as lonely and in pain as she did.

Iris turned her head as she heard footsteps coming her way. She stood up immediately, ignoring the pain in her toes. Yep, definitely broken. She put up her fists, got on her toes as much as she could, ready to fight and run. She called out for whoever it was to show themselves. She nearly choked when she saw it was Damian who came out. Even in the dark, Iris could see the black eye he had. She lowered her fists and stared.

"What happened?" she asked without thinking. On second thought, maybe she a bit more like her dad than she thought.

Damian smirked. "A combination of your father, Batman, and your little friend Natasha. Mostly Natasha." He refrained from rubbing his face. "Can I talk to you?"

"Are you going to insult me again? Perhaps hurt me even more? Seriously, that was nowhere near cool." Iris, though her words were filled with venom, sat down, resigned in the matter. And though her mind shouted that she was still angry with him for everything, her heart still skipped a beat when he sat down closely to her. She moved her toes, the pain distracting her from the euphoria she was feeling.

"I... I came... I came to say I was sorry."

"Really? What for? For pushing me down? Or for calling me a simple minded girl? Cause you're too arrogant to apologize for both. Actually, why are you apologizing? Aren't you too good to apologize to a commoner like me?" Iris heard herself and wished she could stop, but her tongue now began to shout on its own.

"I pushed you down because I have never been allowed to have anyone close to me. Not my mother, not even my grandfather, not anyone. So when I felt myself allowing you to come near to me, I couldn't let that happen and pushed you away. Hell, even talking about this is painful for me. It goes against everything I was taught."

"Still no apology."

"I'm sorry for hurting you. I couldn't help myself. You wanted to know something that was way too personal for me and would have torn me to tell you. And if I told where those scars came from, I would have hurt you just as much as the cause of those scars to me.."

"You could have said so."

"I was scared. Because it would have meant that you would know I had secrets."

"Everyone has secrets."

"No, everyone has desires of secrecy. No one knows what it's like to have real secrets. And I have secrets."

"Okay, arrogant, but apology accepted. But about calling me simple minded?" Iris wasn't ready to forgive Damian just yet.

Damian grinned slyly. "I meant it when I called you simple."

"Hey!"

"But it wasn't an insult. When I said simple, I meant that I don't have to try to figure you out. You wear your identity on your face. You show everyone when you're happy. People can see when you're sad. You don't hide anything from others."

"I'm not seeing how that's not an insult."

Damian leaned back so he was lying down on the wet ground. Iris laid down as well. "My life has always been complex and a puzzle. I have never known anything was as great a certainty as I know you. It's comforting to have someone I can depend on. I don't have to worry about secret meanings or lying, because it's on your face. And you know what? That's why I like you?"

Iris's heart stopped. He what? Iris froze as he leaned in closer. She closed her eyes and suddenly felt his warm lips against her own. Everything from earlier, all her anger, pain, frustration, dissipated. All she could focus on was the slow and gentle kiss. When Damian finally pulled away, Iris almost didn't. When she opened her eyes, Damian was smiling.

"You see? Now I know you like me."

And he kissed her slowly once more.

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, so when I first asked people for songs to describe characters, I was thinking of having one giant covert mission at a music contest and basically the team entered as a band and yada yada yada. But as songs kept coming in, (Thanks by the way for everyone who submitted) I sort of ended up with a little psych evaluation of everyone. So here is the last chapter before I officially go on hiatus. Sorry. With school starting on Monday, I won't be able to write as much. Hopefully the hiatus won't last long though.**

**See you all soon!**

**Kind of.**


	8. Chapter 8: Sweet Freedom

Aaron never understood his world or his place in it. He never understood the hand he had been dealt and he certainly never understood the rules of the game. He only knew a handful of things as certain and the rest was not important to him. He was raised by his father, Nolan, of the Hell Squad. He never called his father "Dad" as that would suggest weakness, both in him and his father. Four years ago, when he was thirteen, an explosion caused by Batman had nearly killed him. He owed his life to Nolan who had saved him using Dr. Mani, or as Aaron like to call him, Dr. Maniac, who made him into a cyborg. He had served his father faithfully as long as he could remember. This was all that mattered.

He also knew that his father had taken an apprentice six months ago who had taken the name Malice. Aaron never asked his real name for the simple reason that he didn't cared. It would also lead to Malice asking Aaron's real name which he would have forgotten by now if he didn't say it every morning in the mirror.

That was one more thing he knew. His real name was Aaron Nolan. Not S.I.N., the name his father called him because Dr. Maniac had said that that was what he was. Systems Inorganic Neutralizer. Aaron thought that it should have been Inorganic Systems Neutralizer, but the doctor was from Columbia and he supposed it was a translation error or something to that effect. Again, he didn't know for certain so it didn't mattered.

Today, though, was the day. It was the day that he might finally know a few more things for certain.

Malice walked up to Aaron where he was testing the new upgrades his father had gotten for him. As the testing dummy exploded, Aaron grinned at Malice who stood there as stoically as ever. It almost irritated Aaron how Malice never showed any emotion. He supposed it was because like most of the Hell Squad-forced to join. And Malice was one of the best additions to the Squad. He was much more brilliant than the others who joined and had a knack for causing pain. Aaron knew his father only wished Malice had the bloodthirst that he had. It was a fault that bound the two boys, though they probably would never know it.

"Come on, S.I.N. It's time to go check out the new recruits." Even his voice was emotionless. Aaron wondered what had caused such a stillness in Malice as he followed him. The new recruits were, of course, an idea Malice had proposed to Nolan in order to combat the gang of hero wannabes. The idea was to find others who would fight for them and be a team that would deal with the little team while the Squad did the real work. Aaron was frustrated that his father would not involve him with real worthwhile missions, but this was as important as any other task that Aaron was required to do.

When Aaron walked into the room, he saw five cells, each one slightly different to focus on cancelling out the subject's powers of any were present. He studied each of them carefully. Four boys and one girl. He looked at the girl curiously; she was beautiful, even if it was obvious that she was not fully human. Actually, as Aaron looked down at their stats, none of them were fully human with the exception of two.

The girl was Angelica Torres, though she now went by Angel. She was 28 though she looked like she was Aaron's age. Aarong winced slightly seeing her real age. So much for wishful thinking. Her birthday was December 30. She grew up in Columbia with her mother and father and younger brother. She had wavy honey blonde hair with icey blue eyes. She was a cyborg, like Aaron, apparently created by the same scientist, Dr. Mani. Aaron was resentful for a moment with the fact that she could still blend in at least with humanity while he had given up on that long ago. She glared at Aaron and Malice with pure hatred. Aaron smiled at her. She had no idea how much she would hate him.

The first boy was Vincent Serano, half demon, half human. He was the son of Alistair, a high ranking demon. Aaron remembered the demon from his father. Nolan was vastly opposed to demons, so Aaron was surprised that he had agreed to have the offspring of one on their side. His hair was black, curly, and more messy than usual due to him been sleeping on the floor of the cell for the past week. His eyes were brown, appearing human, but they flashed red as Aaron made eye contact, revealing his inhuman side. He was the son of Alicia Serano who had willingly kept the boy despite his sire. Aaron looked for as to how the boy was conceived, but there was nothing on that. He supposed that not even Vincent knew.

The second boy was Jackson Argueta. He was born in Mexico and short of having quite the killing record, he was rather unremarkable in Aaron's eyes. He was the only one fully human. He became the hired killer he was for the money and to help support his family. His family was killed when he refused a job, and his most prized possession was a rather nice motorcycle. He was rather skinny with your typical, dark skin, black hair, Mexican appearance. Aaron glanced at the boy who was sulking against the back of the cell.

The third boy was someone who showed promise. His name was Jared Brenton. He was over six foot with light blonde hair and blue eyes. He had the metagene; manipulating light waves was his power. According to his stats, he had had a knack for mischief and trouble since he was a kid. He ran away when he was thirteen and became one of the few Crossroad fighters who was not in direct contact with the Hell Squad. Until about a week ago when he walked straight up to the front door and asked Nolan to take him on as an apprentice. Nolan said he would be trained, but his fate in the Squad would be decided later. Aaron sighed. He guessed now was later.

The last boy and the farthest away from Aaron and Malice was Avon Hall. As Aaron looked at his stats, his jaw nearly dropped. The kid was someone who had literally teleported straight into Nolan's office. He had been dripping with Void energy, so he had come from a parallel universe. Nolan had seen his chance and grabbed the kid. He was half human, half warlock. And from the test results, he was a very powerful warlock. He had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. And if Jackson was skinny, this guy was plain anorexic. He was nothing more than skin and bones. Avon still seemed confused as to where he was; he was simply staring at everything and everyone else around him. Aaron could understand his father's desire to keep this boy. After that one Crossroad fighter left, they had been strangely lacking in Void testing.

"What do you think, S.I.N.? Think they'll work out?" Malice asked, his voice suddenly having a strange tone. Aaron recognized it as mischief.

"I think that they'll work. We still have to train them, but that should be fairly easy. It appears from their records that they have been training for years." S.I.N. understood the game Malice was playing at and wanted to laugh. Ever the genius, Malice was playing the prisoners to see their personalities.

"What do you think of the girl? She's pretty cute and date-worthy. If you take into account that she's twenty eight and emotionally scarred."

The woman nearly vomited at the thought of dating either of them, making Aaron laugh out loud. He could understand the girl. He had white hair and most of his right side was machine. He had one red eye, one blue with tanned skin. He was small for his age, and due to the machinery in his body, he couldn't grow up like others. He would always be shorter than other guys.

"Well, S.I.N., I think you got the short end of the stick with Dr. Mani. It looks like he did a better job fixing her up than you."

The woman stared before exploding. "Dr. Mani is dead! I killed him myself!"

Malice smiled. Aaron knew that this is what he specialised in, causing emotional damage. "You thought wrong, pretty lady. He survived, but only barely. You should have seen his face when he heard that we brought you in. It was so special. He wanted to see his dear Angelica again. Not to mention give you his special treatment as payback for nearly killing him. Would you like to see him again?"

Malice made way for the doctor. Aaron shivered whenever he saw Dr. Maniac. Since his incident with Angelica, he was paralyzed from the chest down. This caused several issues to arise in him and whenever he wheeled around, he had several bags and tubes coming from his body to the point that he looked as if he was the cyborg. His neck was in a perpetual crook and he rarely moved it. Aaron wondered if he even could. The doctor had an uncanny ability to see everything you were feeling. He freaked Aaron out more than anything and he quickly made way for the doctor.

"Angel," he croaked out in his raspy whisper voice. His head didn't move. He didn't even blink. Aaron saw the pain and fear in Angel's face and almost felt pity for her. She screamed and covered her ears and closed her eyes tightly. Dr. Maniac tried to smile, though it looked more like a grimace. He croaked something out that only Malice could understand. Malice smiled devilishly and pressed the button on a remote he had. S.I.N. instantly understood. A sonic wave went out, causing him to fall down to his knees in pain, but the effect was much worse on Angel. She fell down all the way screaming and began to convulse in agony. S.I.N. watched in horror as the effect slowly wore off on him, though it didn't end for Angel. He wanted to look away but was raptured by her suffering like the others. When S.I.N. eventually tore himself away from Angel and her pain, he glanced at Malice.

"It's a frequency that only affects robotics," Malice whispered. Aaron could see that even Malice was a little scared of the doctor. "It was installed in all of Dr. Mani's experiments so that he would always have some control over them. It doesn't affect you quite the same because you have an adapting system. If the doctor wanted to hurt you, he would have to constantly and randomly change the frequency in a range that would hurt you. Doctor, we're done."

Malice pressed the button once more and the wave silenced itself. Angel lay on the floor, gasping for breath and unconscious. The doctor, clearly sad his fun was over, rolled away and left the group. Malice sighed, and looked at the rest of them. "You are here to join a team. Our purpose is to destroy the League's brats that they think actually have a chance of defeating the Hell Squad. Training will-"

"What makes you think we want to join?" Angel had waken and slowly gotten herself up. Aaron saw in her eyes the anger and hatred that she was feeling. She slowly stood up and Aaron felt a great deal of admiration for the woman. Her bionic implants were still spazzing and he knew that she was still in obvious pain. But she still stood up, trying to even herself with Malice and himself.

"Because if you don't, you will receive similar treatment as what you just experienced. If you do, you can see Javier again."

Angel's eyes were suddenly confused. That was obviously not a possibility she had considered before now. Aaron glanced at the notes once more and read that she had her brother had been especially close. He smiled with Malice. She would join now, if only to see her little brother one more time. She sat down defeated before giving a slight nod. She was on the team.

It was Jared who had sparked Aaron's interest and Malice's as well. He looked at them with a certain relish that unnerved Aaron. He would join the team without a doubt. The way he smiled reminded Aaron of his own father. Malice took advantage of this and Aaron had hoped that he wouldn't have. As expected, it conversation was unnervingly disturbing.

"What about you, Jared? You want to join the darkness?"

Jared smiled. "No. I want to show people the light." Aaron was confused until he remembered Jared's powers was to bend light waves. Aaron had to smile at the wit the boy was starting to show.

Malice likewise smiled and unlocked the door. Almost immediately, the boy attacked Malice and Aaron. Aaron wondered how stupid this boy really was. Within a minute, Aaron had his arm transformed into a sonic weapon and Malice holding Jared tightly, ready to be shot. But as Aaron was about to fire, effectively ending Jared-or his hearing at the very least- a memory flashed through his mind's eye.

* * *

_He was at his school with his mother. She was only a vague, shadowy figure. She was showing him the new preschool he would be attending. It was the... sixth one since he started preschool. He thought it was six anyways. He couldn't keep numbers straight in his head. They all turned around so he had no idea if he was looking at a 4 or a 9. Or a 3 or an 8. They all jumbled around so he couldn't understand them. He wasn't sure why he and his mom kept moving around, but all he knew was that he was happy. His mom gave him the_ best_ peanut butter cookies ever._

_His first thought of the multi-colored room was that it was way too bright. It wasn't nice and calming and all of the other kids that his mom encouraged him to play with were way too loud and hyper. They scared him honestly, so he never left from behind his mother's long black dress. She had a music performance later. He knew that because she played the violin. She always played him a song before he went to sleep. He never tired of hearing her practice. He always heard her, even now, in his head, he could hear the music of the Nutcracker Suite playing right now in his tiny head._

_As his mother tried for the last time to tear him off of her dress, there was a loud crash outside. The room began to shake violently. An alarm went off, loud and shrill that hurt his ears. He screamed, but he could no longer hear himself. His mother wrapped his arms around him as pictures and shelves fell off the walls. She held him close. The lights shattered and glass fell around them. He was acutely aware of the slices and cuts he was feeling. He screamed again, but he still couldn't hear himself. His mother grunted, taking the brunt of the earthquake._

_He wasn't sure how long the room was shaking, but all he knew is that debris was everywhere when he and his mom slowly rose up, miraculously unharmed other than some cuts that would need obvious stitches. His hearing slowly began to return and that obnoxious alarm that sounded like a dying animal was still ringing and showed no signs of stopping. Then, as soon as his mother let him go, part of the roof caved in and struck her on the back and neck._

_He ran to her and screamed, this time barely hearing himself. However, some part of him knew that she was dead. It wasn't the fact that her body was contorted in such a way that it no longer looked human with her neck almost facing her back or her back crunched to an almost 90 degrees. No, he knew his mother could survive that. What told him that she was dead was that the music in his head stopped playing. He could no longer hear any music, only that awful, ear splitting, terrible screaming of the alarm that burrowed into his head. He wanted it to stop, for the music to come back. But nothing came. Only the sound of dying._

* * *

Aaron lowered his arm and turned his back on Jared and Malice. He would not show the weakness in his face. He walked away, leaving everyone behind. He walked back to his quarters, all the time, the smile on his face was growing bigger and bigger. He was almost laughing by the time he reached his room. As he shut the door and turned off Nolan's secret cameras, he was crying with bliss.

He could remember his mother.

For so long, he had had no recollection of his mother. For years, all that he knew of his family was Nolan who never showed anything more than a disapproving grunt towards him. But now, he had something more. Albeit, his mother was only a shadow in his mind, but she was there. Aaron could remember a time when he thought his mother was only something Nolan made up, or that other people had, but not him. But now, she was real. Now, there was something more.

Now the music had returned to him.

He was lying there, trying to see if he could remember anything else of his mother when he heard a knock at the door. He sat up quickly and wiped away tear stains on his face. He got up, knowing he would have to make up a good excuse for not killing Jared for his insolence, but Aaron also knew that he could no longer kill anyone. He was useless to Nolan now.

He opened the door to see Malice there. His eyes were confused and instead of his stoicness, Aaron saw a vulnerability in Malice that he had never seen. Malice walked in, and looked around as if he had never been in a room other than his own before. The more Aaron studied him, the more he realized that Malice has probably never been in his own room for more than one or two nights. Aaron suddenly felt a stab of pity for the boy with no home.

"What did you see?"

The question took Aaron by surprise. He had expected a reprimand or a request from Nolan. Aaron answered, "I saw my mother."

Malice smiled, slightly with hope. "Back at the warehouse, you saved the girl, Deadshot, from al Ghul's mind control. That was more than just beating the competition."

"Yes."

"Why?" Malice's eyes were now shimmering with something that Aaron had never seen in Malice. It was something that Aaron could only remember from his mother. It was pride.

"My father hates me. The only reason he knows about me is because his name came up on my birth certificate. I am not the son he wants. I never will be. When I saw Deadshot, I wanted something from her. Something I can never have. I wanted a relationship. A real one. I knew I would never get one with her, but I want something so much more than what Nolan gives me. Call me soft, but I want to love someone and to be loved by them."

"S.I.N., do you know why I'm here?"

Aaron shook his head.

"Because I loved someone. Her name was Sophia. She was great." Malice got a dorky smile on his face and his eyes began to well up with tears. He looked happy. Genuinely happy. Aaron knew that that was what he wanted some day. "She was the only one who saw me for me. She didn't see the nerd, or the shy kid, or the guy who only found peace in my contraptions. She saw me. And no one ever did that before."

"What happened?"

Malice looked over at Aaron. "Your father knew about my genius long before I did. When I reached high school, I got a couple of vague offers from him, though I never knew it was him at the time. After saying no once too much, he blew up my school. I nearly died. But during that time when I was in a coma, Sophia never gave up hope on me. When I woke up, she was standing there right beside me. She had fallen asleep. I tried not to wake her up, but I did on accident. Her eyes were red and puffy. She'd been crying for a long time, I could tell. I knew then that I loved her. We had only been dating for a couple months, but I loved her nonetheless and knew that I could never be happy with anyone else.

"So after I recovered, I faced your father, literally. He came to my house one day as I was leaving for school. He showed me a picture of Sophia. He said that I would have to join if he wanted her to live. So I joined. I took the name Malice."

"And Sophia?" Aaron wanted to know what had happened to the girl who could cause Malice, the prodigy as Nolan called him, to fall in love.

Malice was crying now, though it was silent. It was painful, Aaron realized. Not because it was sad, but because Malice had been broken. He would do anything to keep Sophia alive. He was bound to Nolan in a way that Aaron had never known. Malice would never be free. "She became the Phoenix."

Aaron's mouth dropped. Sophia was the Phoenix. Every day, Malice had to fight against the girl he loved in order to protect her. He had nearly been forced to take her own life all in an effort to protect it. Aaron wondered if really wanted something so powerful that he could be broken like Malice. But as Aaron saw the joy in Malice's face as he took out the picture of Sophia that Nolan must have given him, Aaron knew that he wanted that. More than anything. Aaron knew he wanted to have a force so powerful in his own life that he would stop at nothing to protect it.

Malice gave Aaron a remote controller. It was the key to the prisoner's cells. Aaron looked up at Malice. "I can't leave, S.I.N. But you can. You still have a chance to live and be free. Take it. Take it and leave. And take those prisoners with you. Give them their chance."

"What about Jared?"

"He's meeting with Nolan about recruitment. He won't get in your way. Now go."

"I'm sorry, Malice." The two boys both knew what would have to happen.

"It's Steven. And good luck, S.I.N."

"...Aaron. And... thank you," he said as he punched Steven in the jaw with such force that it was sure to be broken. Steven hit the floor, knocked out. Aaron gave the closest person he could dare call a friend one last look before running.

Aaron knew very few things in his life. He never understood his world or his place in it. He never understood the hand he had been dealt and he certainly never understood the rules of the game. He only knew a handful of things as certain and the rest was not important to him. He was raised by his father, Nolan, of the Hell Squad. He never called his father "Dad" as that would suggest weakness, both in him and his father. Four years ago, when he was thirteen, an explosion caused by Batman had nearly killed him. He owed his life to Nolan who had saved him using Dr. Mani, or as Aaron like to call him, Dr. Maniac, who made him into a cyborg. And he knew one last thing.

He was finally free.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey all! I hope you like the chapter! So not on hiatus. Inspiration suddenly came and now I'm a madman! It was pretty fun to write. I remember Aaron was one of the first OCs submitted to me when I first tried this story almost a year ago. He is proudly owned by Flying Jay who also owns Avon Hall and Atla-Un, but the latter won't come in until , also, credit to Flying Jay for the Hell Squad. In Aaron's original outline, they were barely mentioned, but slowly they became my evil supervillain group, so thanks, Jay!**

**How did you guys like Steven? I felt that I showed his change in the last chapter as well, but showed no reason so I thought I might show you guys. I hope you enjoy him as much as I do. I love a good person forced to do horrible things (Sorry, that's the tragedy writer in me. I love killing my characters off. Don't plan on it... At least, not without permission...)**

**Wow, this is long. Like, really long. So one last thing. I recently got a tumblr thingy. I still have no idea how to work it. But anyways, it's .com. I also have a bloggy thing I want to start up showing you guys a bit more about who I am. That's .com. I know, original, but I couldn't think of anything else at the time.**

**As always and with my adieu, review, follow, or favorite!**


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